


Lifestreams

by CelestialKestrel



Series: My Final Fantasy 7 Fics [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Gore, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Five Stages of Grief, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, Love Triangles, M/M, Original Character(s), Planet Scar Syndrome | Geostigma, Platonic Relationships, Self-Acceptance, Shinra Electric Power Company Science Department, Tifa and Cloud Are Platonic Parents, Turk (Compilation of FFVII)-centric, more relationships may be added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:20:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22215481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelestialKestrel/pseuds/CelestialKestrel
Summary: Crows flutter through the clouds, lurching on the broken tower tops, watching the world below as sick people hide in darkened alleyways, some unluckier ones splaying out on the street, dark liquid oozing around their lifeless bodies. Many would think to stop and help them up, but not here. Frightened of the illness named “geostigma” being contagious, the residents of the unstable city step around them, leering at them in disgust as they head to their daily jobs. Many people chose to forget the events from all of those months ago, taking material from the remains of Midgar to build up houses and lives for themselves again, others didn’t.Adriel could never forget.
Relationships: Cloud Strife/Original Character(s), Reno (Compilation of FFVII)/Original Character(s), Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife, Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough & Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife
Series: My Final Fantasy 7 Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737448
Comments: 5
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first OC-insert story! I'm looking forward to the FF7 Remake and I have recently re-watched Advent Children, so I wanted to try writing this. I hope you like it!

Two years had passed since the meteor had struck Midgar, the desolate and crumbled remnants looming close to the east of the new city; Edge. The ruins a reminder of the city that was corrupted with turmoil, greed and hate, always in the horizon; unavoidable to the eye and yet so far away.    
  
Crows flutter through the clouds, lurching on the broken tower tops, watching the world below as sick people hide in darkened alleyways, some unluckier ones splaying out on the street, dark liquid oozing around their lifeless bodies. Many would think to stop and help them up, but not here. Frightened of the illness named “geostigma” being contagious, the residents of the unstable city step around them, leering at them in disgust as they head to their daily jobs. Many people chose to forget the events from all of those months ago, taking material from the remains of Midgar to build up houses and lives for themselves again, others didn’t. 

Adriel could never forget. 

He had joined the Turks a month before the catastrophe had occurred, aiding them with searching for a group called AVALANCHE, desperate for the money and a stable life he had accepted the job; unknown to him that someone he knew was a part of the group Shinra hoped to catch.

A year before the meteor crashed into Gaia, he had lost his little sister to bandits, Adriel and his sister were orphans with little money or luck. He tried to stop them, but it was too late. They ran after realising they killed her; they took her life away hoping to get some gil. 

He stumbled around Midgar clutching her body in his arms, calling out for help into the empty streets, to no avail. After he thought all hope was lost, out of the dimly lit love hotel signs and closed bars a flower girl came to his aide. 

She tended to his wounds and helped him put together a small funeral for his sister in the Sector 5 Church. After she had helped him, she revealed her name to be Aerith. Adriel frequently visited her at the church tending to the flowers with her, it was odd saying how little he knew about her; yet Adriel felt a sense of familiarity as she laughed gently at his dry humour, or gazed at him with those sincere, concerned large green eyes when he spoke about his little sister. 

Life eventually prevented him from visiting her and he had to travel, picking up the odd jobs in the different towns to survive and it eventually led him back to Midgar after Shinra were desperately trying to recruit new members. 

He never had the chance to repay her kindness.

When the meteor struck Midgar, he was on the frontlines with the Turks; attempting to evacuate everyone as buildings collapsed around them and flames licked close to their torsos. He watched as his friend's skin burnt away leaving nothing but charred corpses as he hoisted children on his back carrying them to safety, leading them into the slums as Reeve led him and the other Turks, yelling through the chaotic sounds of screaming and crashing stones. 

His life was crumbling above him as he shielded residents of Midgar from falling debris. He was prepared to die that day, become one with the Lifestream, as it lit up the darkness, dancing across the sky and glancing across his skin.

He awoke in the rubble, the skin on his back singed from the fire. After the meteor had taken the lives of so many citizens AVALANCHE had prevented Sephiroth from destroying the planet. Only then did he hear the news of Aerith’s passing. Although Reno had attempted to console him, Adriel still blamed himself for her death. He worked under Professor Hojo, the man who had created Sephiroth; Adriel played a factor in her death. 

She gave him life, and he had killed her.

_ “It wasn’t your fault.” _

“Hey, are you listening?”   


“Hey! Adriel!” 

“Huh?” Adriel startled, his wild auburn hair framing his face as he leant against one of the shop stalls. He gazed at the familiar red hair and sharp blue eyes.   
  
Reno stared at him, the sharpness of his features now smoothed with what Adriel perceived as pity. “Did you hear me, Ad?”   
  
“Yeah, sorry, Reno. I was just-”   
  
“In your own world again, I get it.” Reno leant against the stall by his side, his arms crossing over his chest. “Y’know, you should really consider joining us again. Rude and Rufus would love to have you back on the team again.”   
  
“No,” Adriel retorted, closing his eyes tiredly. “Not after learning that Shinra was run by a corrupted bastard.”

“Aw, c’mon, that was two years ago!” Reno stated, grinning at him. “We can make it better than before.”   
  
“No.”   
  
Reno shrugged his shoulders, the grin on his lips now tugging into a soft smile. “Well, you know where to find us.” Adriel idly nodded as his friend tore himself away from the shop stalls, twirling his body around to face Adreil’s diamond shaped face, his lips firmly clamped together. “See you around then! Good luck with your painting and whatnot.”

Reno struts away, picking up his ringing mobile phone as he disappeared into the drab crowds. Adriel sighed, picking at his nails; then he turned into a low-grade off-white, masonry building with an awkwardly outlined gravel parking area in front of it, where an old metal sign of a paintbrush remained over the chipped wooden green door. The rich smell of paper and acrylic paint surging from the open windows and on to the shouting, honking and passing crowds below.

Adriel ungracefully stepped over the clutter that spilt over the new burgundy carpet and headed towards a brush and shovel. After cleaning the room, he slumped down behind the till, boredly spinning around in his chair; his hand brushing over the small black marks of the stigma that embedded itself into his skin. He adjusted his loose and flowing long brown coat over his arms, smoothing out the creases of the white shirt underneath, then placed his feet onto the desk in front of him, his eyes scanning over the many colourful paintings he had created.

Time ticked by as Adriel picked up a book, LOVELESS. His clouded blue eyes scanning over the text.

> _ My friend, do you fly away now? _
> 
> _ To a world that abhors you and I? _
> 
> _ All that awaits you is a somber morrow _
> 
> _ No matter where the winds may blow _

He let out a sigh, sinking further back into his chair, snapping the book closed. He rested one of his arms over his eyes, his left leg jiggling impatiently. Sometime later, the wooden door opened, the bell hanging over its frame jingling melodically. Adriel huffed in relief, removing his arm and gazing at the customer; a young woman with short brown hair, a turtle neck green jumper and a protective gauntlet hanging loosely over her left arm. A mischievous glint reflected in her dark eyes as she restlessly stepped forward, eyeing the assortments of colourful canvases. 

“Can I help you, miss?” Adriel asked, leaning forward in his seat to appear more professional. 

“Just browsing,” the girl replied smiling. She paced around the floor, swinging her arms by her side as she went; her lips pursed together in thought. She stepped near a painting of a church, doves perched on top of it. Behind the white building, strokes of red filled the canvas and abstract shapes of people blended into the distance. Adriel tucked his hands into his pockets as he got up from his seat.    
  
He walked over to some stray canvases on the floor, picking them up and perching them on the white walls as his customer eyed the painting of the church some more. Thinking nothing more than it being vague interest, Adriel continued sorting through his store, expecting the customer to leave without buying anything.

Well, half of that statement proved true.

Adriel twisted his body around, gawking in disbelief as the small woman took the canvas from the wall and shot off through the door like a rocket. He yelled out after her, pursuing her out of his store and into the grey streets that stretched for miles. “Hey, wait! You haven’t paid for that!” Adriel exclaimed.

The woman jumped upwards onto one of the other buildings; she stared down at him for a moment, then turned and dashed off. Adriel sighed, he rolled his neck then continued after her scaling up the building. They both swerved through the bustling streets of Edge as she tried to get away from him; it appeared she had a lot of training with stealing items. The large shuriken on her back seemed to prove Adriel’s assumption that she could be a ninja.

Just as the woman tried to land, somebody grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks. She tried to wriggle away from whoever it was holding her in place; without succeeding. Adriel jumped down from the building, landing close by to them; scowling. He straightened his posture and gazed at whoever had saved hours of his work from being taken from his grasp. 

Blond gravity-defying hair and what seemed to be Mako infused bright eyes stared back at him. Adriel stepped forwards, carefully taking the painting from the young woman’s grasp, slightly nodding in thanks to the familiar man, he turned to the struggling woman still held firmly in place. “If you want that, you must pay for it,” Cloud murmured.   
  
“Okay, okay!” she yowled while squirming. “Let go of me, Cloud!”

‘Cloud’ loosened his grip on her and she dusted her clothes down, pouting childishly. She gazed back at the blond who held a blank stare down at her, then she turned back to Adriel. “Fine! I’ll pay.”   
  
She handed him the money, sheepishly folding her arms around herself as she stepped to the side of her friend. Adriel placed the gil in his pocket, his eyes flickering over her face. “I won’t report you this time, but don't do that again. I’m too busy to run after ninjas in broad daylight,” he jested. 

She shrugged, kicking some stray pebbles from the concrete as Cloud’s blue irises fixed on Adriel’s face. He looked quite ill, although he held himself as if he was a soldier. Adriel broke the awkward staring match by blinking, he licked his dry lips and stared at the floor. “Thanks for stopping your friend.”   
  
“It’s Yuffie,” the childish voice two inches below him stated.    
  
“Right, as seen as we’re introducing ourselves… uh, I’m Adriel?”    
  
“Cloud is my pain in the butt friend,” Yuffie crudely gestured up at him while fiddling with her clothes. 

Cloud huffed, wrapping his coat closer to his body as he walked off. Yuffie deeply scowled. “Hey! Where do you think you’re going! You haven’t even said anything to the dude yet!”

Cloud mounted an oversized black motorcycle, revving its engine and zooming off down the cracked road. Adriel laughed in confusion. “Woah, you guys are really weird.” He stared down at Yuffie. “I guess you’re welcome to come to my store again. Let’s just pretend that this wasn’t our first impression, yeah?”   
  
Yuffie laughed a little. “Yeah, fine, whatever. Well, see you around, ‘Adriel’.”   
  
Before he could react, she zipped away into the crowds without a sight. Adriel huffed, mist forming from his mouth. “Seems things might get a little more interesting around these parts.”   


After he returned to his shop, he locked the door and skulked up the creaky staircase. Once he reached his small bedroom, he flopped onto the bed, exhausted from chasing Yuffie around for twenty minutes. His eyes had begun to fall closed, but a shrill chime screamed from his mobile phone. Sighing, Adriel fumbled for it and took it out of his pocket as it vibrated.

“Reno”   
  
Reluctantly, Adriel answered the call, moving his wild hair away from his eyes. “Hello.”   
  
“Hey, Ad. I was wondering how you’re doing?”   
  
“Good, good,” Adriel answered, playing with the quilt beneath him. “You?”   
  
“Yeah, we’ve just been trying to get some old members back with us today. You won’t have met this guy who we visited today, but man, he’s always such a handful.”   
  
Adriel smirked. “Yeah?”   
  
“Yeah, Rufus was talking to him, he looked like he was considering it and then I said something REALLY convincing to him, to get him excited to join Shinra again, right?” Reno stated quickly. “Well, long story short, this guy just left. He even slammed the door in my face.”

Adriel chuckled quietly. “You scared him off, didn’t you?”   
  
The other side of the line became quiet for a few moments as murmuring sounded in the muffled background. Reno cleared his throat. “No, I think it was Rude who scared him off.”   
  
His voice dampened underneath Rude’s as they bickered, Adriel picked at his nails as he waited for them to finish, trying to suppress a grin. Reno’s voice travelled through the phone again. “Sorry, gotta go!”   
  
Adriel turned his phone onto sleep mode after Reno had disconnected from the call. “How they will make Shinra from the ground up, I’ll never know.”

A few days had come and gone as Adriel took care of the store, scraping money together for food and bills. He didn’t even have enough money for medicine; not like there was a cure for geostigma, anyway. Adriel took each day as it came with a smile forced on his face as he served customers and occasionally Yuffie when she dropped by the store - at least she wasn’t stealing anything else for now.

Morning light shone through the windows as he sat down at a canvas, his brush stroking lines and shapes into the empty material. As he worked, the soft chime of the bell alerted him to a new customer. He paused the movements of his paintbrush, his eyelashes fluttering upwards as he gawked at the same blond hair he saw the other day. Cloud wordlessly stared at the assortment of artwork displayed around the shop as he walked around. 

Adriel got the impression that he wasn’t really one for much talking, so he continued working as Cloud’s bright eyes flashed around the room, finally landing on Adriel. “Excuse me.”   
  
“Hm?” Adriel hummed as he got up from his seat, approaching Cloud as if he was an injured animal. “Can I help you?”   
  
“Yeah,” Cloud bluntly said. “Is this for sale?”   
  
He was looking at a cyberpunk painting of a Chocobo rearing upwards towards a finish line, its feathers ruffled behind its body. Adriel inspected the painting, his shoulder’s brushing passed Clouds as he searched for its price tag. “Yeah,” Adriel eventually said. “It’s five hundred gil.”   
  
“That’s it?” Cloud asked blankly.

“Yep,” Adriel replied cheerily, smiling up at the slightly taller man. “That’s all, sir.”   
  
‘ _ Man, this dude’s to the point.’ _

Adriel eyed him for a few moments, hoping for him to speak again, but he remained silent. “Uh, do you want to purchase this item?”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
“Okaay,” Adriel said as he picked up the canvas, sidestepping around Cloud. He placed the painting on the till taking some wrapping paper and showing the different variants to him. “Is it a present for someone, or is it a gift for yourself?”   
  
“A present,” he replied, staring anywhere but Adriel.

“Right, well, I can use this patterned gift wrap if you like? It’s no extra charge today,” Adriel explained, smiling politely.

“Fine.”   
  
“Great one moment, sir.” Adriel wrapped up the canvas neatly, then gently pushed it closer to Cloud. “Here you are.”   
  
“Thanks,” Cloud stated emotionlessly. He took out some gil from his pocket and placed it in Adriel’s open palms. “Seven hundred gil.”

“I’m sure I said five hundred, sir,” Adriel answered him quietly, trying to give his customer the leftover change. “Here.”   
  
“No, I’m giving you seven hundred, it’s a tip,” Cloud replied, fiddling with the obnoxiously sized sword on his back.

“Oh, right?” Adriel grinned sheepishly. “Well, thanks…”   
  
Cloud nodded, swiftly taking the canvas from the till; striding over to the shop door. It swung shut behind him, leaving Adriel feeling a little dazed from that exchange. “Wait, did he give me this as an apology for when his friend tried to nick one of my paintings?”   
  



	2. 7th Heaven

Thoughts clouded Adriel's mind as he got up the next day, the mysterious blond man and his vacant stare had been playing in loops within his head. Adriel briskly had a shower and threw his usual garments and long brown coat. He then left his shop and drove his car through the streets to the south. A cafe called 7th Heaven was his favourite place to go in the morning, Adriel had started to go back there two weeks ago, it was great to relax in the comfortable atmosphere created by the staff working there. It used to be a part of Midgar, before the meteor destroyed it. He occasionally went there with his sister before he was working as a Turk.

He walked over to the entranceway, dragging the bottom of his shoes on the rugged carpet outside the doors. Adriel clumsily stretched, then stepped inside. Sunlight seeped in through the open blindfolds on the windows dotted symmetrically at the front of the building. The scent of freshly brewed coffee and chatter of half-asleep voices whispered in the morning air. It always seemed to be the same faces at the same tables, which was comforting. Adriel didn’t feel as on edge here; almost as if he wasn’t judged

But he still hid his geostigma well underneath his clothes.

He spotted Yuffie giggling up a storm as one of the three friends sitting at her table did impressions of various celebrities in the different towns, while telling elaborate stories as smoke drifted from his cigarette.

Adriel seated himself on one of the black stools in front of the bar, crossing his arms in front of himself on the table as the soft voices intermingled around the room.

Dark kind eyes fell on his own, a smile creasing her full lips. “The usual?” she asked, brushing some brown hair from her face.

“Please, Tifa.”  
  
She nodded and walked behind the counter, taking out some coffee beans, caramel sauce and milk from the cupboards underneath her. She moved away from Adriel as she started brewing his drink, while multitasking by cleaning some of the dirty dishes in the sink. After she had finished, she placed a glass cup filled with frothy coffee in front of Adriel. He slipped her the money, and an added tip with a smile, indulging himself in his caffeine fix for the morning.

“So,” Tifa began speaking as she started frying some eggs. “How’s your business going?”  
  
“It’s going okay, yeah,” Adriel replied in kind, smiling. “Business has been slow at the moment though and it’s difficult getting my hands on quality paints for cheap, but I enjoy doing what I do. What about you?”

“Similar to you, I enjoy my job, but it’s been quite slow this month. I’ve been having to get my business out there a bit more for Marlene and Denzel,” she explained as she plated some food. “Keeping them happy is my top priority.”  
  
Adriel nodded after he took a sip from his coffee. “Yeah, I can understand that.” 

“They always keep me busy,” Tifa said through a small chuckle. “Especially Marlene, she’s always wanting to find out more about the world.”  
  
“I imagine,” Adriel mused, taking another slurp from his beverage. 

“I heard one of my friends had tried to take one of your paintings without paying,” Tifa explained, leaning her elbows on the counter. “Sorry about that, Yuffie is… a bundle of energy. I had to lecture her.”  
  
Adriel giggled. “It’s funny you mention that a blond guy called Cloud stopped her for me.”   
  
“Really?” Tifa inquired. “I didn’t know Cloud was back in town.”   
  
“Cloud’s back!” an excited voice exclaimed, the patter of feet alerting Tifa to one of her children racing over to her. “Where is he?”   
  
Tifa leant down near Marlene, fixing her light brown fringe. “He’s not here yet, but Yuffie has seen him. Maybe he’ll drop by if we’re lucky.”   
  
Marlene smiled up at Tifa, her large brown eyes hopeful. “It’d be great if he did come. Denzel needs some cheering up.”   
  
Tifa straightened upright again, fiddling with her leather gloves, her expression somewhat sombre. “Yeah.”   
  
“You know him?” Adriel asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Yeah, I do, he’s my childhood friend,” Tifa explained. “He’s just… too busy to usually drop by.”  
  
“He’s a quiet guy, isn’t he?”   
  
“He can come across that way,” Tifa said, her features softening. “He’s actually just quite shy.”

Adriel nodded, placing his empty cup back on the counter, beginning to withdraw into himself; flashes of Midgar engulfed in flames rushing through his mind, his friend reaching out to him with a shaking hand. A high pitched giddy laugh broke him from his thoughts as Marlene rushed by his peripheral vision, throwing herself into someone’s arms, grinning from ear to ear. She released her firm grip on the man, then turned to Tifa jumping up and down on the spot and rushing off to call for Denzel.

“Cloud!” Tifa exclaimed in surprise. “You should have called.”  
  
Cloud remained quiet, sitting close to Adriel, his bright eyes sharply staring at Tifa’s stern face. “Yeah.”   
  
“‘Yeah?” Tifa frowned. “I’ve been worried about you, Cloud. We all have. The only news I heard of you was from Adriel.”   
  
“Adriel?” Cloud asked, not noticing the man smiling absent-mindedly next to him. 

Adriel gazed at him, raising a hand in greeting. “Sup.”  
  
Marlene arrived back into the room, her small hand gripping at Denzel’s wrist. “Look!”   
  
Denzel stared wide-eyed at Cloud, a small smile forming on his lips. “Hey, Cloud. Welcome back.”   
  
Cloud’s expression softened as Denzel approached him, quickly embracing him and then breaking away; his blue eyes flitting down to the wooden floor. Cloud ruffled his hair, then turned his attention back to Tifa, who ushered Denzel and Marlene over to one of the other tables - presumably some of her friends.

Adriel shifted in his seat as the usual homely atmosphere became rather tense. Tifa gave him a reassuring smile, then walked over to Cloud asking for a private word with him. They both departed from the bar, walking into the staff room. 

Adriel remained seated at the bar, resting his head in his arms; fatigue tackling his body like an avalanche. Although he kept a formidable facade on his face, his body was slowly being overtaken by the geostigma one step at a time; half of him was fighting against it and the other half - well, he wasn’t too sure. He wanted to live, but he didn’t know what he would live for, besides his paintings and the few friends he had.

“Oi, mate,” a gruff voice grunted behind him. “You alright?”  
  
Adriel turned to see a blond-haired man wearing a blue shirt, cargo pants and a brown bomber jacket tied around his waist; a dog tag around his neck and a cigarette tightly in his lips. “You look a bit out of it.” The man stated.

“Oh, sorry,” Adriel answered eventually. “I was far away.”

“That’s alright,” he said, smiling widely. “I’m Cid, by the way. One of Tifa’s and Yuffie’s friends. I appreciate that you didn’t tell on the squirt, she can be a little bit of a wild card at times.”  
  
“It’s not a problem. I’m called Adriel,” Cid roughly took his hand, shaking it then a smirk tugged at Adriel’s lips. “Is by the way your last name?”

Cid grinned, snorting slightly as smoke billowed from his cigarette. “No, but that’d be a pretty good alias.”

The staff room door opened once again and Cloud returned, a familiar wrapped package in his gloved hands. He walked over to Marlene, handing it to her. She excitedly unwrapped it, revealing the Chocobo painting that Adriel had sold to him yesterday. “So that’s who it was for,” he murmured, a soft smile on his lips.

Cloud’s bright eyes stared over at Cid and Adriel, then he strode back over to the bar, sitting on one of the stools.

“Good to see you, mate,” Cid stated, roughly patting him on his shoulder before returning to his seat next to Yuffie.

Cloud stared down at his knuckles, his piercing gaze stabbing the table. Adriel shifts uncomfortably on his stool. “Hey, Cloud?”  
  
Cloud broke his eye contact with the counter and locked eyes with Adriel, letting a low questioning grunt from his mouth.

“You okay?”  
  
“Yeah,” Cloud replied quietly.

“I wanted to say thanks for yesterday.” Adriel grinned. “I appreciate it.”  
  
“Mm,” Cloud replied nimbly, his irises tearing away from Adriel, his lips downturned. “You…”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“Do you come here a lot?” Cloud questioned, clasping his hands together.

Adriel softly smiled at his shy attempt at conversation. “Most mornings I’m working I do, yeah. Why do you?”  
  
“I… work here,” Cloud stated.

“Oh? I’ve never seen you around before.”  
  
Tifa reappeared from the staff room, smiling gently at the two men. “That’s because Cloud’s busy a lot, he’s my delivery boy.”

Adriel laughed lightly. “What a nice surprise!”  
  
Cloud hummed quietly as Tifa passed his vision. “Hey, Cloud. Do you want a glass of water?”   
  
He nodded and Tifa left his side, grabbing a glass and running the cold tap. Water filled the empty crevices of the glass, bubbles forming throughout the liquid; then Tifa turned the tap off and walked over to Cloud, passing it to him. He took it in his left hand, taking a sip and placing it back on to the table, his thin eyebrows knitting into a frown.

Adriel ordered another caramel coffee, Tifa was amazing at creating beverages just as Adriel liked them - he had a bit of a sweet tooth.

After Tifa refilled his empty glass mug, she handed it to him. Adriel smiled in gratitude, then gazed out of one of the windows close to him, watching as birds fluttered through the grey skies. Even if he couldn’t save Midgar, it was almost nostalgic to see that birds never strayed from the path they had chosen to fly on. He wondered if he could have done things differently if he could have saved his sister and the stranger who showed him how kindness could be found when he least expected it. 

His phone vibrated in his pocket, causing him to jump a little from his thoughts and diving back into the harsh reality that he couldn’t change time. Adriel took the phone from his pocket, murmuring a lazy ‘who’s speaking?’

“It’s Reno, my guy! Where are you? I went to meet you at your shop, but couldn’t find you anywhere.”  
  
“Oh, hey, I’m at 7th Heaven,” Adriel replied tiredly. “I can meet you if you want?”   
  
“No, that’s okay, Ad. I’ll drive down and see you there,” Reno stated, Adriel could almost see the shit-eating grin on his face. 

Adriel quietly chuckled. “Alright, I’ll see you in a few.”  
  
“Yeah, I’ll be about ten minutes,” Reno confirmed. “See ya.”   
  
Adriel turned his phone back on sleep, stuffing it in his pocket and turning his attention back to his delicious beverage. He and Cloud sat in comfortable silence as they sipped at their drinks, the chatter from Tifa’s friends behind them blurring into a concoction of noise. Marlene and Denzel scurried over to Cloud, asking him questions about where he had been. In a roundabout way, he answered them, it was just a little vague.

The wind rushed into the cafe as the door opened, a man with bright red hair and glittering cheeky blue eyes arriving in the doorway. He scanned the suddenly silent restaurant, then his eyes widened upon seeing blond hair. “Uh, Ad? You know this guy?”  
  
“Kind of,” Adriel replied, slipping off of his stool and walking over to Reno. “Why? What’s wrong?” Adriel analyzed his friend’s paling face. “Uh, Reno?”   
  
Cloud got up from his seat, the gentle gaze he held with Marlene and Denzel now hardening into anger as he strode over to Reno. “What are you doing here?” he asked coldly.

“I was just passing by,” Reno laughed sheepishly. “How come I can’t come in, but Adriel can?”  
  
“He’s not you, is he?” Cloud bluntly remarked.

Tifa’s voice called firmly from behind the three men. “Hey, no fighting in my place! Anyone is welcome here, Cloud. Just as long as he behaves.”

Reno smirked in triumph, automatically leaning his body slightly closer to his friend. “See, Cloud? Tifa likes me.”  
  
She rolled her eyes as she attended to some more dishes behind the counter, Adriel stared between the two of them, frowning. “Uh, should I go back over to the counter and get my stuff?”   
  
Reno shook his head. “No, it’s alright. Don’t let Mr Spiky ruin your morning.”   
  
“He hasn’t-”

Cloud frowned over at Reno, then his mirth faded into coldness, he gazed down at Adriel. “How do you know him?”  
  
Reno grinned, pulling Adriel into a headlock. “He used to be one of us, Cloud. A Turk, you never came across him though. He started a month before-”   
  
Adriel’s brown hair bristled on the nape of his neck as he pulled himself roughly away from Reno, his usually laid back stance tensing like a cracked statue. “I don’t remember asking you to say anything about my past,” he spat. 

Reno stiffened, holding his hands up in front of his chest, waving them. “I didn’t mean any offence, Ad, I just-”

Cloud stared down at Adriel, his sharp blue eyes slightly widened at his unforeseen outburst. Cid leant back on his chair, frowning over at them. “Oi, Reno.”  
  
Reno stared at him, his lips downturned.

“Is this your thing?” Cid asked, blowing smoke away from Yuffie and the other man seated next to him. “You like pissing people off?”  
  
Reno frowned. “No, and I don’t remember including you in this conversation.”

“And I don’t remember saying you were one of us, scamp,” a large man with a machine gun attached to the bone and skin of one of his hands, grunted.

“Barret!” Tifa growled.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. 

Reno frowned over at Barret, then ignored his comment, brushing it off. “I thought you were away on business, anyway. What are you doing back so early?”

Barret stared at him, folding his muscular arms in front of his chest. “To see Marlene, I was near the area so I’m dropping by for a few hours,” he grunted. “Then Tifa or Cloud can take care of her again while I’m away.”

“Fair enough,” Reno replied casually as if Barret never said anything insulting. His focus on Adriel returned; his blue eyes an ocean of worry as he remained quiet staring at him. Cloud didn’t break his eye contact with Reno’s face, his brow slightly furrowed. “Hey.” Reno nudged Adriel, his friend shifted away from his touch, staring at the floor. 

Flashes of unpleasant memories flooding Adriel’s head. He finally broke out of the trance, his cerulean eyes blinking twice, then turned on his heel. “I’m leaving,” Adriel murmured, stepping towards the door. “I’ll see myself out. Thanks for the coffee, Tifa. It was good seeing you again, Cloud.”  
  
“Wait!” Reno called out as Adriel stormed through the door.

Reno sure ran his mouth, Adriel didn’t want to be known as another corrupt member of Shinra, nor did he want the reminder that he had failed to save his friends that day. They didn’t deserve what they got; if anything, he probably deserved it more than they did. His feet eventually led him back to his shop, he unlocked the door, slinking back into a seat with an easel holding a freshly stretched canvas. He allowed his acrylic paints and brushes vent out any frustrations he had, guilt and embarrassment gnawing at his stomach. He didn’t want to come across overly sensitive to Tifa’s friends; he felt especially bad that his outburst happened in front of Marlene and Denzel - but anything to do with what happened back then being brought up made his heart feel as if it had bullets piercing through it.

After a few hours, he had finished a very abstract painting of a Behemoth snarling. It was mostly just made up of random shapes, but it helped to relax him. A jingle of the bell alerted him to someone entering his shop. He forced a smile onto his face. “Welcome to-”  
  
He blinked upon seeing Reno staring sheepishly back at him.

“What do you want?” Adriel grumbled.

“I, uh-” Reno stammered. “Sorry. It really wasn’t my place to mention anything about your past to other people. You know what I’m like.” He shrugged, shifting uncomfortably on the wooden floor, his eyes attached to the ground. 

Adriel sighed, getting up and placing a hand roughly onto Reno’s shoulder. “It’s fine,” he said as he dropped his hand back to his side. “Just, try not to mention it again. I prefer keeping the past in the past, y’know?”  
  
Reno smiled up at him, which then transferred into a large goofy grin. “Aww, you big softy, I knew you’d forgive me!” Reno grabbed hold of Adriel, spinning him around laughing. Adriel wriggled his long legs, trying to escape his grasp. Reno placed him back on the floor, his eyes gentle. “I am sorry, though.”   
  
Adriel brushed his hands away from himself. “It’s fine, Reno. No hard feelings, yeah?”   
  
Reno smirked. “Okay. What have you got on sale today?”   
  
“Feel free to take a look,” Adriel murmured, returning behind the till.

Reno softly whistled as he strolled around the shop, eyeing the different canvases, he came to a stop near the recent painting that Adriel had created. “This new?”  
  
“Yeah.”   
  
Reno visibly cringed. “I pissed you off that much, huh?”   
  
Adriel rolled his eyes, fiddling with a ballpoint pen on the counter. 

“I think I’ll take it,” Reno answered eventually. “Hang it in my room as a reminder to not screw up again.”  
  
Adriel laughed lightly. “Alright, if you insist. It’s three hundred gil.”   
  
Reno passed him the money, and Adriel wrapped up his painting, shoving it close to his friend. “There you go, you big lug.”   
  
“Thanks!” Reno grinned widely. “So, you know Cloud then?”   
  
“He stopped one of his friends Yuffie from stealing one of my paintings,” Adriel explained as he fumbled below the counter for spare change. 

“What a small world, eh?” Reno quipped. “It just looked as if you knew each other longer than a coincidental meeting a few days ago. He kept gawking at you as if you had something delicious on your face.”

Adriel snorted. “Sure.”  
  
“Honest.” Reno started fiddling with the package in his hands, his lips pursed in thought. “I mean, I look at you like that all the time and you don’t notice.”   
  
“Piss off,” Adriel joked. 

Reno grinned, casually rolling his shoulders. “You should be careful around him though, he might seem quiet, but he’s got quite a cold temper. He’s the one who slammed the door on me.”  
  
“Cloud was…?” Adriel scrunched his face in thought, that must have meant Cloud had ties to Shinra too. An amused smirk plagued Adriel’s expression as Reno stared at him in confusion. “You deserved that.”   
  
“What?” Reno asked.

“Cloud… Slamming the door in your face.”


	3. Flowers

Adriel busied himself with work once again, ignoring the throbbing pain that slowly travelled further through his flesh each day. His went with his usual routine, stopping by at 7th Heaven and chatting with Tifa, her friends and her adopted kid, Denzel and Marlene. Cloud didn't make an appearance though, Tifa kept an amiable face on for the children informing them he was just on the road again. Adriel knew that Marlene and Denzel saw through her white lies, it was obvious he wasn’t just delivering beverages and food door to door. He seemed to love Denzel and Marlene; if he was working he’d find time for them. But Adriel knew he was hiding something dark, it made him even more curious about what kind of person Cloud was if this secret would reveal itself.

After Adriel left the cafe and headed back to his shop, he got to work; vigorously painting fresh images in his mind on to the canvas. Reno sometimes said that it was odd how he put so much emotion into his work, only to sell it. However, Adriel felt as if once someone had purchased his pieces, he could let go of that specific emotion for a while, before it reared its ugly head and he painted it again.

He always kept the paintings as vague as possible so they’d sell, but rarely, he’d occasionally paint something for himself as a memoir to place in his small bedroom. He only had one photograph left of his sister, so he created paintings of her to keep her memory alive in his reeling brain. Sometimes he feared he’d forget what she looked like. 

He hadn’t even noticed the door had opened to his store as his brush caressed the canvas, his head felt clouded; worse than it had been for quite a long time. His body ached more and more each day, usually he just downed some painkillers, ignoring the inevitable illness overtaking him. But he couldn’t push it away today, it was almost as if it was laughing at him; perhaps Minerva found his suffering amusing, alongside all the others who were plagued with the incurable disease.

Adriel felt a presence close to his back and instinctively, he turned to face whoever had let themselves in. His blue eyes narrowed as he stared at the blurring face in front of him. “Cloud?”   
  
“Yeah,” he replied bluntly.

Adriel got to his feet, trying to suppress his body from swaying. “Can I help you find anything?”   
  
Cloud shrugged, then stared at him for a few moments. “Yeah, I’d like something for Denzel.”   
  
“Oh, right.” Adriel nodded. “I have something I think he might like.”   
  
Cloud watched Adriel silently as he moved into the staff room, taking out a painting of a starry sky and a town underneath it. “Here,” Adriel stated as he placed it close to Cloud. “If you look there, you can make out all of the constellations on Gaia, it took me a while.”   
  
Cloud gazed at it thoughtfully, then his eyes drifted to familiar flowers in the foreground. Adriel noticed his blue eyes lingering on them. “Oh, they were just a last-minute touch.” Adriel smiled at him. “You okay?”   
  
Cloud hummed. “I think Denzel would like this.”   
  
“Alright, I’ll wrap it for you,” Adriel replied quickly as he lifted the canvas, placing it on to the till. “What colour would you like, sir?”   
  
“Blue,” Cloud answered.

Adriel obliged, following his request. He took the patterned blue gift wrap, placing it around the canvas; trying to still his paling hands from shaking. After he completed wrapping it, he offered Cloud a polite smile. “Here. This is four hundred gil.”   
  
“Seven hundred,” Cloud corrected him, his eyes glinting with amusement as Adriel tried to figure out if he said the price right.

“What?” Adriel replied. “I thought I said-”   
  
“Here, take it,” Cloud stated, placing the change within Adriel’s trembling palms.

Adriel gulped a forming a lump in his throat, the world around him threatening to dissolve, but he fought against it, pocketing the change and nodding at Cloud, forcing a smile. “Thanks.”   
  
Instead of leaving, Cloud stared at him, his piercing eyes staring through his facade. “You’re shaking.”   
  
“I am?” Adriel huffed. “It must be all the caffeine I’ve been drinking.” He felt too guilty asking Cloud to leave so he could retreat upstairs and change his bandages on his arm, or collapse and awaken in a haze. Adriel shifted his arms behind his back as black ooze thickly travelled down his skin, a smile still plastered on his face as Cloud squinted at him.

“You…” Cloud began.

“I uh- I will go get something,” Adriel interrupted, his head spinning. “I won’t be long.” He hoped that Cloud hadn’t figured out he had geostigma, if he had, he could easily report him and close down his store. Then what? He’d be left with nothing. Not like he had much to begin with.

Adriel hurried upstairs roughly unbuttoning his white shirt, stained with dark spots. He quickly wrapped his arms with fresh bandages and pulled on a dark jumper instead, throwing his white shirt in the washing basket. He downed some painkillers with a glass of water, then stumbled out of the staff room; Cloud was still stubbornly stood in the store, his brow furrowed.

_ ‘He’s found me out, hasn’t he?’ _

“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Adriel struggled to keep his voice from breaking off into nonsensical words. 

“You have geostigma,” Cloud informed him.

Adriel frowned, defensively hiding his arms again. “What do you mean? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”   
  
“Your arms…”    
  
Cloud tried to step forward, but Adriel backed away. His face stony and his blue eyes fixed on Cloud’s face. “I’m fine.”

Adriel heard the shrill sound of his mobile phone’s ringtone reverberating around the room, although it was odd as Cloud didn’t seem to react to the sudden noise and the phone wasn’t vibrating in Adriel’s pocket. Nonetheless, he took it out, inspecting the caller ID, only to see the home screen, Adriel licked his dry lips, remembering that when he got particularly ill, he usually experienced auditory hallucinations. He tore his attention from his phone and back on to Cloud, his body becoming weak. Before he could grip something he teetered to the side, nearly falling on the floor. Muscular arms wrapped around him before his face collided into the laminate flooring.

“Hey!” Cloud’s voice echoed through the room. “Adriel.”   
  
His voice dissolved into nothingness as Adriel’s eyes fluttered closed, his body becoming numb.

Whatever he experienced next, happened in short spurts as his eyes flickered open, seeing the open road in front of him as his head lolled to the side; gloved hands and arms keeping him stable on the vehicle he was sitting on. His vision blackened then came into focus again as he was taken down a familiar pathway, cluttered broken buildings blocking cracked roads. He felt someone placing him down on something soft, the fresh scent of flowers filling his nostrils; the world becoming dark again.


	4. Truth

When he next awoke, it was dark outside, crows cawing muffled through stained glass windows. Adriel sat up, running a hand briskly through his hair, his clothes sticking to him. He stared at his surroundings, white walls towered above him and broken benches cluttered in rows. “Aerith’s church?” he croaked tiredly.

Soft breaths sounded close to him and his vision glided downwards, seeing Cloud curled up close to him, he had nothing to keep his shivering body warm. Adriel sighed, taking his coat off and placing it around Cloud. Oddly, although Sector 5 was completely deserted and broken, the church still stood firmly in place, the only signs of damage being a small hole on the ceiling. Nostalgia flooded through Adriel’s head as he remembered walking in here with Aerith for the first time. It was pouring down with rain and he must have been searching for help for hours, her gentle green eyes looking back at him with worry as she took his hand, placing him on one of the benches. 

Her soft hands brushed over his hands as he wept, a small concerned smile on her heart-shaped face. “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.”  
  
Adriel jumped as a hand was placed onto his forehead, reality crashing on him again. His shadowed eyes turned to Cloud, as he sleepily compared his temperature to himself. His blue eyes filling with an ocean of relief. “You’re okay?”   
  
Adriel nodded, his head still feeling heavy. “Did you take me here?”   
  
“Yeah,” Cloud stated, sitting upright. “I thought you wouldn’t want the others finding out.”

“It’s bad enough knowing that my secret isn’t so secret anymore,” Adriel mumbled, picking at his broken nails. “But, thank you, Cloud. You really didn’t have to take me here.”  
  
Cloud stared at him gently. “It’s fine.”

“Why here though?” Adriel inquired, his throat strained. “You could have kept me in my shop.”  
  
“People would have come in,” Cloud simply explained. “No one comes here, except for me.”   
  
Adriel nodded, his eyes flitting around the church. “Do you keep this place like this?”   
  
“Yeah,” Cloud replied. “I water the flowers and clean the church.”   
  
“Thank you,” Adriel stated, realising how odd that must have sounded.

Cloud furrowed his brow, shifting his weight a little closer to Adriel.

“I… I knew someone who came here a lot. She helped me,” Adriel explained. 

Cloud remained silent, watching him carefully.

“She was called Aerith.”  
  
Cloud blinked, shifting back slightly as if her name had tried to murder him. Adriel eyed him in worry. “Are you alright?”   
  
Cloud’s expression defaulted back to a neutral one, and he nodded. “I knew her too. She was one of my friends.”   
  
“Wait, were you and your friends back at 7th Heaven… apart of AVALANCHE?” Adriel inquired, his breath catching in his throat.

“Yeah,” Cloud replied nimbly.

“I see.” Adriel looked down at his hands, attempting to pick at them again. “It explains why you acted like that with Reno.”

“Stop,” Cloud added. “You’re hurting yourself.”  
  
Adriel hadn’t noticed that some of the skin around one of his nails was bleeding. “Sorry. It’s a bad habit.”   
  
Cloud stared at him in concern, it reminded Adriel of Aerith; the sharp features of his face were smoothed out as he gazed at him, worry evident through the downturn of his lips. Adriel pulled his knees close to his chest, guilt gnawing at his insides. Cloud was friends with her, and Adriel felt as if he was at fault for her death, his past felt as if it was coming back to haunt him again. Minerva must have really been laughing at him. 

A hand brushed over his fingers, Cloud gazed at him. “What Reno said, was it true?”  
  
Adriel’s shoulders tensed after he asked him. “Yes. I was a part of the Turks.” Although he hated thinking on the past, he almost felt as if he owed Cloud something, he knew Aerith after all. It was only right for him to come clean. “I was asked to search for AVALANCHE, I worked for them for a month before the meteor came. I had no idea that you and your friends were involved. To be honest, Reno and Elena mostly covered for me. I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into, nor who I was working under. I had no idea you and Aerith were apart of AVALANCHE as seen as I didn’t go on missions after Reno took over for me.”   
  
Cloud remained quiet, his expression unreadable.

“I’m sorry, Cloud.”  
  
“What for?” Cloud questioned.

“For everything.”

Cloud blinked as Adriel turned away from him, concealing his emotional spillage. “You should stay away from me. I’m a curse to the people who care for me.”  
  
“No you’re not,” Cloud softly stated. “And, whatever happened, it is not your fault.”

Adriel roughly wiped his arm over his eyes, avoiding staring at Cloud. A hand clasped his shoulder comfortingly and Adriel melted into the warmth of the touch. He nervously turned to face Cloud, his lips a straight line. 

Cloud stared at him wordlessly.

“I-” Adriel began but an unfamiliar drawling voice interjected their conversation. 

“Where’s mother?”  
  
Cloud stood upright, his body twisting around like a cat. Adriel blinked, slowly getting to his feet and gazing at the intruder. He had long silver hair and blazing green eyes, his pupils slits; he looked familiar. He stepped into the middle of the room, his face crinkling in disgust at the flowers surrounding him. Then his eyes focussed back on to Cloud, a smirk appearing over his face. “Come on, brother. Tell me where she is.”   
  
“Your mother’s not here,” Adriel stated coldly. “I don’t know who you are, but I think it’s time you should leave.”   
  
A sharp laugh echoed around the room as the stranger stepped forward, the wooden floor underneath his black boots creaking. “Made another friend, brother?” The man’s eyes scanned the room, falling on used bandages, speckled with black ooze. “You’re one of us too?”   
  
“What?” Adriel huffed. “I have no idea who you are.”   
  
“I’m Yazoo,” he said blankly.

“You sound like a milkshake,” Adriel said just as blankly back to him.

Cloud stepped in front of Adriel, his hefty sword raised in front of him. “Get back,” he murmured. 

Adriel frowned, stepping by Cloud. “Why? I know how to fight just as much as you do.”  
  
Cloud shifted worriedly, his eyes flitting over the new bandages over Adriel’s left arm and shoulder. “You’re not in any condition to fight.”   
  
“Oh yeah?” Adriel questioned sassily, knocking Cloud playfully with his shoulder. 

Yazoo remained quiet for a few moments, then his stance suddenly changed. His Velvet Nightmare handgun raised dangerously. “Bring it.”  
  
The three of them clashed in battle, Cloud batted Yazoo’s bullets away with his sword tackling him to the ground as Adriel took a metal rod close to his feet in his grip, roughly hitting Yazoo in between his shoulder blades with it, knocking him backwards. A force fell onto his chest as Yazoo towered over him, raising his gun. Adriel, thinking fast, quickly lent upwards, butting his forehead against Yazoo’s nose. Sure, it wasn’t the standard way of fighting but he learnt a lot from working with Elena in the Turks. 

Yazoo stumbled back as Cloud sliced at one of his shoulders; with cat like reflexes, Yazoo dodged out of the way, flower petals flowing close to him as he landed. He brushed some of them off of his shoulder, his nose wrinkled. Adriel and Cloud firmly planted their feet, waiting for his next move, just as Yazoo tried to race towards them, a phone vibrated in his pocket. He skidded to a halt, taking out his flip phone and placing it to his ear.

“Hello, brother... Yes, I’m at the church. Oh? You found him. I’ll meet you outside.”  
  
Cloud blinked, moving his sword downwards, his stance becoming looser as Yazoo continued speaking on the phone. His green cat-like eyes fell on Adriel and Cloud as he murmured, then he put the phone away, fixing his long silver hair. “I’ll see you around. It’s been fun.”   
  
Before Cloud could dart at him, he sprang away out of the church and into the distance of the broken buildings. Adriel blinked, frowning as he turned to Cloud. “Who was that?” Cloud gripped at his head, stumbling back. Adriel caught him before he had a chance of falling. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”   
  
“No,” Cloud muttered, he looked up at Adriel through his blond eyelashes, his pupils flitting into slits for a moment. “Headache.”   
  
“Oh,” Adriel stated, believing what he saw to be a trick of the light. “I have some painkillers, if you want some?”   
  
“Yeah.”   
  
He passed Cloud the pills and he swallowed them dry, spluttering a little after he gulped them down. Adriel patted him on his back, smiling up at him. “Are you okay?”   
  
Cloud nodded, trying to avoid eye contact. “You?”   
  
“Yeah, what a weirdo,” Adriel added, looking back at where the strange man had darted in the direction of. “What was his problem?”   
  
Cloud stared in the same direction as Adriel for a few moments, then his gaze turned back on to the bandages on Adriel’s arm. Yazoo had somehow unraveled them, the fabric loosely falling around Adriel’s forearm. Cloud wordlessly moved over to him, stepping into his personal space. Adriel opened his mouth to protest, but Cloud tightly wound the bandages again, his blue eyes full of focus. For a few seconds, he remained standing close to Adriel’s face, his breath falling over his skin, then he retreated and adjusted his clothes. 

Adriel stared nonchalantly at the floor, not really knowing what to say now. Cloud surprisingly filled the silence for him. “We should get back. I’ll take you to 7th Heaven, Tifa can keep an eye on you.”  
  
Knowing that it would be impossible to argue with him, Adriel agreed and followed after Cloud, taking one last glance at the church before he left the entrance.

Cloud mounted his motorcycle, placing goggles over his eyes. He glanced over his shoulder as Adriel sat behind him, nervously staring at the bike. Cloud handed him some spare goggles and he placed them over his eyes, noticing the sky getting darker as particles of sand drifted eastward in the dull sky. Without warning, Cloud gripped at Adriel’s hands with his slightly larger gloved ones and wrapped them around his abdomen. He revved the engine and lifted his feet onto the footrests. 

They drove down the empty roads, as they went, Adriel imagined Midgar looking as it did two years ago. Neon signs glowing in the darkness as shady characters loitered in the pathways, blowing smoke and drinking alcohol while talking about provocative subjects. Then his blue eyes landed on a run down building, an old sign hung above it “7th Heaven”. Blinking, Adriel vaguely remembered going there and coming across a rather stoic blond-haired man drinking alcohol like it was water - he had met Cloud before.

Adriel stared in front of him, eyeing the lean body his arms were wound tightly around. He closed his eyes, resting his head against Cloud’s back, exhaustion overtaking him. After he awoke, Cloud had slowed his motorcycle down, swerving through the roads in Edge as pedestrians walked by and sick residents hid in the alleyways, away from prying eyes. Adriel blinked, licking his dry lips and stared up at the spiky blond hair in front of his vision. 

As they stopped outside of 7th Heaven, the doors swung open and Denzel rushed outside, his blue eyes full of excitement. “Cloud!”  
  
Cloud stepped off of his motorcycle, turning the engine off. “We’re here.”   
  
Adriel nodded, scooting clumsily off of the leather seat and placing his feet onto the cracked concrete. Denzel clutched hold of one of Cloud’s hands as he walked inside 7th Heaven - the new 7th Heaven. Adriel supposed that Tifa would have had to build her business from the ground up, she was pretty amazing with keeping a positive outlook on everything.


	5. Geostigma

Adriel took a seat at the back of the room as Marlene spoke quietly to Cloud, their voices mere static as far as he was concerned. He didn’t want to burden Cloud anymore than he already seemed to be, so he kept his problems to himself, his head burning profusely. He didn’t even want to look at how far the mark had spread on his arm, he wasn’t even sure how much longer he had left. Tifa approached him, gently smiling, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. “Here,” she said as she carefully placed it in front of him. “Cloud told me what happened, how you collapsed at the shop. This is on the house.”   
  
“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” Adriel stated quietly, the gravity of it all pushing down on him. 

Tifa blinked, her red eyes searching his. “You know, I know it’s not my place to say this…” Her voice turned into a mere whisper. “Denzel has it too, he’s fighting it everyday. I know you’ll be able to battle it as well.”

Adriel nodded, not having the mental strength to reply as he sipped at his coffee. The door opened to the cafe and two familiar faces approached into the dining area; Reno and Rude. Tifa smiled at them both in greeting, then returned back to cleaning down some tables. Reno blinked, his gaze landing on Adriel. He strode over to him, feigning confidence, although his clenched hands told another story. “Ad,” he murmured. “Hey, buddy.”   
  
Adriel stared up at him through his eyelashes. “Hey.”   
  
“You alright? I tried calling for you in the shop, but when I used the spare key, you weren’t in. Did something happen?” Reno inquired, sitting down opposite him. “You look like crap.”   
  
“I feel like it,” Adriel idly commented.

“You’ve been looking paler recently,” Reno said matter-of-factly. “You don’t have…”   
  
“No, I don’t,” Adriel replied, his lips tugging upwards as if they were on a string. “I’m just stressed.” 

Reno nodded slowly, but his left eye twitched slightly. “I wanted to let you know you need to be careful, there’s a group of Sephiroth wannabes who are going around town. They’re searching for us Turks.”

Adriel commented dryly. “A guy called Yazoo tried to ambush us at the Sector 5 church.”   


“He did?” Reno asked, frowning. “How did you get away?”   
  
“He got a phone call, he said he’d found someone,” Adriel explained. “Then he just whisked away.”   


“Shit, Rufus,” Reno yelled. “Rude, we need to go now! They’ve already got to Elena and Tseng. I think they might be after us guys next.”

“Elena and Tseng are…” Adriel choked out.

“We don’t know that yet,” Rude said calmly, he turned to Adriel. “Are you coming too?”   
  
Cloud approached the three of them, furrowing his brow. “Where are you going?”   
  
“Rufus is in trouble, some chumps are planning on ambushing him, the same guy you saw at the church tried to get to Adriel,” Reno stated hurriedly as he stood up, placing his coat on. 

“They’re after the Turks?” Cloud asked in confusion. 

“Yes,” Rude affirmed.

Adriel got up from his seat. “I’ll go.”   
  
“What?” Cloud asked incredulously. “But, you’re-”

“I’ve got nothing left to lose,” Adriel stated. “I will help Rufus. Elena and Tseng are already… I’m going.”   
  
Cloud shook his head. “No, you can’t.”   
  
Reno stared sharply at Cloud. “You might not have ties to the Turks anymore, but Rufus is still our family, regardless of what happened in the past.”   
  
Adriel remained silent as Cloud’s eyes darted between them all. Rude placed a hand on Adriel’s back as they trailed outside of 7th Heaven and got into a car. Cloud followed after the three of them. “Wait!”   
  
Dust particles erupted from the old engine as it started whirring, and the van set off down the street, swerving away from oncoming traffic. Reno eyed Adriel as he slumped against his seat, his mind blotching like ink on paper. Pain shooting through his arm, his chest constricting from the realisation that two of his friends were most likely dead.

“We’ll stop him,” Rude reassured them both. “Rufus is clever, he’s stalling him.”   
  
“Let’s hope so,” Reno added, digging his nails into the leather seat. He glanced at Adriel. “You’ll need a weapon if we’re going in there. I have a spare gun in the back.”

When they arrived outside of the isolated metal building, Healen Lodge. Rude, Reno and Adriel covered the different entrances, waiting for a signal from Rude. They burst down the doors, entering into the main office. Rufus was sitting down in a wheelchair, watching as a man with shoulder-length silver hair that covered parts of his face, paced around him. When he noticed that he had visitors, a smirk plagued his slender face; his pupils slit similarly to Yazoo. “Well, well. Look who we’ve got here. Reno, Rude and Adriel. Don’t think I forgot you,” he drawled, stepping around the room casually. “You all went against mother and now you’ll pay for what you did to her.”

Reno clenched his teeth. “Leave or we shoot.”

The stranger cackled, gasping for breath and sighing out. “You three think you can take me on? Oh, please.”   
  
“He means it,” Rude affirmed.

“Very well, if that’s how the three of you want it, I’ll give it to you,” he sneered. 

“Kadaj,” Rufus breathed, his hood concealing his face. “Do you think this is a good idea?”   
  
Kadaj smirked. “Well, it’s a bit of fun. I hope they put up more of a fight than the other two.” He stepped forwards, his leather attire flowing softly behind his back as he took careful steps forward. Reno and Rude shifted their position to a more defensive one, Adriel blankly stared at him, raising his handgun. Kadaj gazed at him with interest. “You were the one Yazoo saw with our brother.”   
  
“Cloud is not your brother,” Adriel snarled.

“Oh? Is he not,” Kadaj stated. “Just like you don’t have mother’s cells coursing through your veins.”   
  
Reno stared at Adriel, his eyes widening. 

“You didn’t tell them?” Kadaj cooed. “Too bad you won’t be able to find a cure. Unless you come with me.”   
  
“No,” Adriel said without missing a beat. “I may not have been a Turk for a long time, but this is the only family I have left. I’m not going anywhere with you, I’m not falling for your scam.”

“Tch, typical. You’re another black sheep, like him, aren’t you? Is that why he’s taken a liking to you?” Kadaj hummed. “I suppose that makes you-” He took out his katana, lunging towards Adriel. “A weakness!”   
  
Reno and Rude fired at him, and he quickly dodged out of the way, using his katana as a shield. Adriel slipped behind Kadaj, hitting him with the back of his gun. A pained grunt fell from his mouth and he swiftly turned, slashing Adriel’s stigma infested arm with his katana, a satisfying smirk swept over Kadaj’s lips as Adriel stumbled back, black ooze running down his arm. 

Reno and Rude glanced at him in shock. “Geostigma?”   
  
Kadaj circled Adriel. “Come on, join us! It’s not like there’s much time left for you, anyway. It’s already spread to your shoulder. You’ll be dead in another two weeks.”

Adriel glared up at him, cradling his arm as the thick liquid continued spilling on the floor. “No.”   
  
“Then, I suppose I’ll put you out of your misery myself,” Kadaj stated. 

Reno tackled him to the floor, throwing punches at him, but he was knocked back against the wall. Rude lunged at him next and Kadaj swept him away from himself, Rude collapsed close to Reno groaning as he blacked out. Kadaj prodded them with his feet as Adriel stepped in front of Rufus, frowning.    
  
“Move aside,” Kadaj growled.

“No,” Adriel slurred as he stood his ground, black ooze and blood still seeping from his open wound.

“Fine,” Kadaj sighed, he walked forwards, gripping hold of his face and tilting it. “It’s a waste of a pretty face, but you won’t move.”   
  
A sharp pain jolted through Adriel and the world around him blackened. 

When he next awoke, he was covered with the black ooze around him, Reno was still out cold and Rude looked as if he was waking up. Luckily, Kadaj had hit him with the hilt of his katana rather than slicing him like salami. But why did he spare him? Sweat clung to his forehead as his body shook. Rufus eyed Adriel as he struggled to his feet, grimacing at the pain that spread through his arm and shoulder. “You’re okay,” Adriel breathed in relief. “Where’d he go?”   
  
“He’s planning on taking the sick children to the Forgotten City,” Rufus said tiredly. “I think Cloud’s family may be in danger.”   
  
“Shit,” Adriel muttered as he tore some of his clothes, creating a makeshift bandage. He wrapped his arm tightly, ignoring his aching body, then sat Reno upright. He glanced at Rude. “I need to borrow one of your cars.”   
  
Rude nodded, throwing him some car keys. “Use mine. I’ll make sure Reno and Rufus are alright.”   
  
Adriel nodded, rushing outside and getting quickly into Rude’s car after he unlocked the doors. He started the engine, slamming his foot down onto the acceleration. It rushed down the desolate trees. “I need to find them before they do.”


	6. Dracula

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got round to playing on some of FFVIIR, it doesn't look like it's following the original story, but I'm interested in what the rest of the game has in store. Also, I might be editing this story quite a bit and adding new chapters in between the existing ones to slow down the pace of the action scenes. But I hope you like this new chapter.

The first place Adriel travelled to was 7th Heaven, but he didn’t see any sign of Cloud, Tifa or Marlene. Panic swelled in his chest as he hurried around the cafe, trying to find any trace of them. His pain concealed from the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He skidded to the back entrance, seeing a slumped over shape sitting on the steps, light brown hair moving slowly with the wind. “Denzel?”   
  
Denzel turned to Adriel, his gaze blank and his eyes sunken in. “Aren’t you Cloud’s friend?”   
  
“Listen, I need you to stay here. Make sure all of the doors are locked.” Adriel stopped talking, then gazed over at a little girl, a Moogle plushie gripped in her hand. She cradled it shyly to her chest. “Is she a friend of yours?”   
  
“Yeah,” Denzel said tiredly, staring over at her. 

He had noticeable marks on his forehead, to most people it looked like bruising, but Adriel knew from what Tifa told him and from his own experience, it was geostigma. “Look, you’re both in danger. I can’t find Marlene, Tifa or Cloud anywhere. I’m going to need you to give me Cloud or Tifa’s mobile number.”

“Cloud rarely picks up, but I can give you both of their numbers,” Denzel replied. “They were both worried about you after you left.”

Adriel nodded, then gazed over at the Moogle girl, her eyes wide with fear. Adriel’s expression softened and he leant to her height, pushing the fabric from his coat arm upwards, revealing the stigma and long cut, it had travelled onto his forearm and shoulder, attempting to creep onto his collar bone. “I’m like you.”   
  
She gazed up at him, her eyes now trusting. “You should come with us, someone said he can cure us.”   
  
“I’m sure that there is a cure,” Adriel lied. “But, I don’t think that the man who said that has good intentions. Does he have geostigma?”   
  
“No,” the girl replied.

“Do you know this man?”   
  
She shook her head, her eyes staring down at the cracked concrete. 

“Look,” Adriel said gently. “You should stay inside the 7th Heaven with Denzel. I’m going to find Marlene, I have an idea of where she is.”   
  
Denzel’s eyes widened. “Marlene? Has she been taken?”   
  
“She’s with one of the men who claimed he could cure the stigma,” Adriel explained. “If you go, I don’t know what will happen, but I’m not letting you get hurt.”   
  
Denzel frowned. “So he set a trap for us?”   
  
“Yes.”   
  
The Moogle girl stared down at the floor, her expression familiar with Adriel. He remembered when he lost his sister feeling as if waves of rough water were lashing inside of his throat; choking him. He knew she had lost someone close to her, and he didn't want her feeling the same way he did when he was struggling by himself. Adriel's shadow cast of her as he took a colourful bracelet out of his pocket. “You can keep hold of this, it's one of my good luck charms. My sister made a few of them when we fell on hard times, but I think you need this more than I do.”   
  
A small smile fell on her lips. “Thank you.”   
  
“Now, get inside. Denzel, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find Marlene,” Adriel stated as he carefully herded them inside the cafe. “Don’t open the door to anyone you don’t recognise.” He turned one of the signs around to ‘CLOSED’. “Will you do this for me?”   
  
Denzel nodded. “You promise you’ll find Marlene?”   
  
“I promise.”

“Here’s Tifa’s and Cloud’s numbers,” Denzel said as he handed them to him.    
  
Adriel got back into his car, waiting to make sure that Denzel and his friend had locked the doors in 7th Heaven. Once Denzel nodded to him through the window, he set off towards The Forgotten City. Speeding through the traffic, once he finally arrived, he was surrounded by glowing white trees and long grass. The sounds of a lake rippling nearby.

Adriel got out of the car, retrieving his gun and placing it on his belt. Then he took out his phone and dialled Cloud’s number. After it rang for a while, surprisingly Cloud picked up. “Cloud? Is that you? Where are you and Tifa?”   


Cloud fell quiet for a few moments, then spoke. “We’re at Healen Lodge with Reno and Rude.”

“How’d you get there?” Adriel furrowed his brow.

“Tifa was ambushed by someone at the Sector 5 Church, she thinks he’s taken Marlene,” Cloud stated.

“Are you okay?” Adriel inquired.

Cloud’s throat sounded swollen. “Yeah, we’re fine. Reno and Rude are trying to help us locate Marlene, but we haven't had any luck so far." Clouds voice masked panic “Where are you? I was... worried.”

Adriel sighed in relief. “At least you are both alright, I’m in the Forgotten City. I’ve made sure Denzel is safe, he’s at 7th Heaven. I’m trying to find Marlene. I think she’s here. I believe Tifa’s right, they’ve taken her,”

“Marlene…” Cloud murmured guilt and worry dripping from his voice. Vague noises echoed on the other end of the phone, then Cloud spoke again, his tone stern. “Reno and Rude have affirmed that Marlene could be in the Forgotten City, I’ll catch up with you, I’ll ask Tifa to stay with Denzel at 7th Heaven. Don’t move.”

“Cloud,” Adriel stated. “I’m going to find her. I’ll be careful, don’t worry.”   
  
The phone muffled for a moment as someone gripped at it. “Adriel! Thank Minerva, I thought you were dead after seeing all of the blood on the floor. Why do you always run off by yourself?” he chastised. 

“Sorry, Reno,” Adriel answered tiredly.   


“You better not be doing something impulsive!” Reno sighed. “I think you should stay put until we get back up.”   
  
Cloud snatched the phone back from him. “Listen to me, I don’t want you heading into danger by yourself. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Reno.” A distant ‘hey!’ echoed in the distance, Cloud sighed. 

“Woah, it’s the first time I’ve heard a sentence spoken so quickly by you,” Adriel laughed. “Fine, as seen as you are so worried, I’ll wait in the car. Don’t dilly-dally now.”   
  
He disconnected from the call, scanning the area surrounding him. “What would those creeps want with these kids?”   
  
_ “Just like you don’t have mother’s cells coursing through your veins.” _   
  
“Does Sephiroth have something to do with this?” Adriel murmured as he stepped back into his car. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed something red flashing by the trees. He quickly locked his car doors, folding his arms nervously. 

After ten minutes of waiting around for Cloud to make an appearance, knocking at his window door startled him. A red-eyed raven-haired man was staring blankly at him, sharp teeth and pale skin. Was he a vampire?   
  
Adriel scrambled to another seat, screaming; his chest heaving. “Listen, dude, I don’t taste so good. My blood type is definitely not to your palate.”   
  
“I’m not here to drink blood,” the strange man stated, his red eyes narrowing. “You’re with Cloud?”   
  
“Huh?” Adriel sat upright, slowing his breathing. His fear thankfully no longer a reality. “You’re not a vampire?”   
  
“I’m afraid not,” he stated, his voice slightly muffled through the glass. “I’m here to help.”   
  
“Help…? Oh, right,” Adriel unlocked his door, a part of him still expecting this man cloaked in red to attack him, but he didn’t. “Are you one of Cloud’s friends? I’ve never seen you before.”   
  
“You wouldn’t see me a lot, I’m usually working through the night and sleeping during the day,” he explained solemnly.

“Man, you really are like a vampire. What’s your name?” Adriel questioned, frowning. 

“Dracula,” he said, his lips unmoved from a straight line. Adriel blinked at him, his expression telling him he half believed him. “No, my name is Vincent Valentine.”   
  
Adriel laughed a little in relief. “Right, I’m Adriel. I came here to collect Marlene.”   
  
Vincent nodded, his bright red eyes lingering on Adriel’s diamond-shaped face. “Something in your pocket is vibrating.”   
  
“Oh?”   
  
Adriel’s phone's ringtone filled the silence, he spun around for a moment, then picked it up and connected to the caller. “Hello.”   
  
“Adriel,” Cloud’s voice huffed in relief. “I’m on my way, I’m on Fenrir.”   
  
“Sorry, you’re on what?”   
  
“Fenrir, my motorcycle,” Cloud explained bluntly. “I shouldn’t be too long.”   
  
Vincent awkwardly stepped closer to Adriel, staring at the phone frowning. “Hello, Cloud.”   
  
“Who’s that?” Cloud asked, the sound of the engine whirring in the background.

“A vampire who claims he’s your friend,” Adriel stated dryly as Vincent tried to touch the phone. “You have some strange friends, Cloud.”   
  
“Vincent’s with you?”   
  
“So he is a vampire!” Adriel exclaimed.   
  
“Hang on, okay?” Cloud ordered.

“Sure, it’s not like I can go anywhere as seen as I have to wait around for you,” Adriel stated in irritation. 

He hung up the phone as Vincent’s eyes flickered down at it. “Is that a phone?”   
  
“Uuuh, yeah,” Adriel said, moving slightly away from him. “It is.”   
  
“Interesting,” Vincent drawled, his voice oddly gritty for someone being interested in a phone.

“Okay,” Adriel laughed a little at his childish expression. 

A screech roared in their ears, Adriel flinched slightly at the sound, the throbbing pain in his arm reminding him it still existed; no longer numb from adrenaline. Blond hair and sharp blue eyes stared back at him, a glint of relief in his eyes. “You’re safe.”   
  
“Yeah.” Adriel cringed a little at the pain in his arm as he squinted at Vincent, the light seeping through the trees falling on the sides of the red-eyed man's pale cheeks. “How's he going to hitch a ride?”   
  
“I don’t need to,” Vincent stated. “Good to see you again, Cloud.”   
  
Cloud nodded, then watched as Vincent shrouded into a flying tattered red cloak, zipping through the air. He seemed unfazed by it, but Adriel blinked in awe, his attention being dragged back to the task at hand; saving Marlene. He moved away from Rude’s car, stepping closer to Fenrir.  Cloud stared up at him. “It’s faster if you get on Fenrir.”

“Right, I’ll keep Rude’s car parked here.” He sat behind Cloud, clutching at his abdomen. “Let’s go.”   


Cloud revved the engine, Fenrir moving swiftly down the abandoned woods and glowing trees, Adriel squinted against the cold air, trying to suppress his shaking arm. Eventually, they began to see people in the distance, they all looked like children or teenagers, eerily blocking the road, their eyes blank. One of the silver-haired men stood in front of them, his gloved hand roughly grasping at Marlene. Before they crashed into the crowd, Cloud tilted his motorcycle, in an attempt to halt its accelerating speed; instead of stopping it skidded on the floor, throwing Cloud and Adriel roughly onto the ground. 

Adriel hissed in pain as he landed on the hard floor, scrapes appearing in his skin. Kadaj, the man he saw earlier with Rufus, smirking. Stepping forwards and beckoning the children around him to come closer. They all instantly obeyed, in sync with one another, their eyes blank as if they were caught in some kind of trance. Cloud charged towards Kadaj and Yazoo, slashing and manavouring away from them as their arms glowed.

“Materia?” Adriel stammered, getting to his feet as one of the other silver-haired men approached him, rolling his shoulders and grinning, wiggling his hand at Adriel. “Hand-to-hand, huh?” Adriel smirked, positioning himself into an offensive position in the dirt. Then he launched at the taller man, blocking his punches and kicks with his hands and arms. He elbowed him roughly in his stomach, then jumped up onto a tree, taking out his gun and firing it at the silver-haired man, some of the bullets scraped his skin; but it didn’t seem to do much. 

Adriel frowned, something felt wrong about this. Lunging towards him, the man landed a punch to his abdomen and he tumbled backwards, landing close to Cloud as summons appeared around them snarling. They both fought against them back to back, tackling them away with their weapons. “Cloud! This is a trap!” Adriel yelled above the chaos as he punched one of the creatures out of the way. “We can’t win this.”   
  
Cloud grunted as Kadaj struck at him with his katana, purposefully leading him away from Adriel. Yazoo smirked at him. “So, we meet again.”   
  
“Yeah, how you doing, milkshake?” Adriel quipped, dodging out of the way of one of the monsters. 

Yazoo huffed in amusement, then his eyes fell down to Adriel’s arm as he clutched at it. A knowing smile spread across his lips like melting butter. He aimed his gun towards his injury, firing bullets quickly. Adriel spiralled out of the way of most of them, but a pained yelp fell from his lips as one of them struck through his shoulder. Cloud yelled out to him but was too busy batting away all of the summons and Kadaj to help him. Yazoo towered over Adriel as he fell onto the grass, glaring up at the silver-haired man through his eyelashes. “Come and get it, you bastard.”    
  
Before he could shoot, a red cloak flowed into his face, causing him to stumble backwards. Bullets were fired close to the three brothers and Adriel felt as if someone had clutched hold of him, whisking him to safety.    
  
Adriel glanced upwards, grimacing and taking in his new surroundings. Trees shielded him and Cloud, distant shadows rushing by as they tried to find them. Vincent’s red eyes seemingly glowed through the darkness, turning on Cloud as he clumsily got to his feet. “Cloud, he’s hurt.”   
  
Cloud moved past Vincent, leaning down next to Adriel as he clutched at his arm, blood seeping out from underneath his grasp. “Let me see,” Cloud gently ordered.

“It’s okay, Cloud,” Adriel grunted. "It's just a scratch."

Cloud stopped for a moment, his blue eyes flooding with guilt, then without saying anything he leant forwards, lifting up the fabric of his sleeve and inspecting the severity of the injury. Kadaj’s katana had sliced down the middle of his arm, and the bullet Yazoo inflicted was stuck within his shoulder. A frown plighted Cloud’s features and he placed one of his gloved hands over Adriel’s wrist. “This might hurt a bit, so stay still.”   


After a lot of failures, Cloud finally managed to remove the bullet, wrapping the old bandages over the wound. Adriel shifted back against a tree, staring tiredly at Cloud. “We didn’t get her… Sorry.”   
  
Cloud analysed his expression as Adriel gazed at the forest floor, his brown hair clinging to his forehead and his lips stubbornly firmed together. His blue eyes met Cloud’s own. “You okay?”   
  
“I’m fine,” Cloud affirmed, his eyes trailing down to the geostigma crawling close to Adriel’s neck. 

Vincent stepped closer to them, following Cloud’s gaze. “I come here often. I’ve seen what Kadaj’s group is doing. The stigma. It’s a symptom of alien matter infesting the body. The body tries to eliminate it and overcompensates. Inside our bodies is a current, like the Lifestream. That current is what fights off any malevolent intruders.”

Cloud turned to him frowning. “What do you mean by 'intruder’?”

“The Sephiroth gene. Jenova’s memetic legacy. Call it what you want,” Vincent stoically replied as he knelt next to Cloud.

“You’re well-informed,” Cloud sassily remarked.

Adriel glanced at Vincent, wincing as he hoisted himself closer to the tree. “Did they kill Elena and Tseng…? Those Sephiroth lookalikes…”   
  
Vincent stared at Adriel, his lips downturned. “I did what I could to save them, but… Well, we’ll see.”   
  
“What happened to them?” Adriel croaked.

“Tseng and Elena. They were brought here half-dead. They must have been brutally tortured by them,” Vincent replied coolly. “They got their hands on Jenova’s head.”   
  
“Jenova?” Adriel stared at him wide-eyed.

“Then when Kadaj says he’s looking for ‘'Mother’…” Cloud murmured, his attention drifting back to Adriel. “Is that why they’re targeting the Turks?”   
  
“Yes, but I presume that if they are connected to Sephiroth, they may share his memories. They want vengeance on anyone who stood in his way when he was alive,” Vincent replied. “The calamity, Jenova. If they wanted to, they could recreate Sephiroth.”

Adriel tried to stagger upright. “I’ll kill them for what they did to Elena and Tseng- for what he did to her…” Cloud placed his hands on his shoulders, firmly but carefully seating him back onto the grass. 

“Don’t move, you’ll hurt yourself more,” Cloud murmured. His eyes darted back to Vincent. “Kadaj… What is he?”

“Hm. I’d rather not know.”

Adriel jolted upwards. “Cloud someone’s coming.”   
  
Vincent backed up closer to the two men, readying his guns. The bush parted and a small figure rushed towards Cloud, quickly embracing him. “Marlene,” Cloud breathed in relief.

Marlene stared up at him, her eyes wide. “Cloud! Denzel! And Tifa!”

“Tifa and Denzel are safe as far as I know,” Cloud replied. 

Adriel stared up at her. “I took them back to 7th Heaven.”   
  
Marlene’s tense body softened slightly as she nodded, she stared back up at Cloud. “I wanna talk to Tifa!”   
  
Cloud blinked, craning his neck, trying to search for his phone. His expression became deadpan and he turned to Vincent. “May I?”   
  
Vincent dramatically moved his cloak to the side, revealing his weapons attached to his belt. Marlene blinked, her mouth slightly agape. “You don’t have a phone?”   
  
“You can use mine,” Adriel offered, taking out his mobile. 

Marlene ran over to him, her brown pigtail flowing behind her. She gratefully took his phone from him and dialed for the 7th Heaven. Impatiently jiggling in the spot as she waited for someone to pick up. Eventually, a faint voice sounded on the other end and Marlene’s eyes brightened. “Tifa! I wanted to let you know Cloud, Adriel and Vincent found me. Is Denzel okay?”   
  
Cloud huffed turning to Vincent. “Vincent, will you bring Marlene to Tifa? I’m gonna go see Shinra and get a few answers.”   
  
Vincent frowned. “I can’t do that.”   
  
“But I-”   
  
Marlene’s face soured as she disconnected from the call, passing Adriel his phone back. “Forget it, Cloud! Why don’t you ever pay any attention to us?” She scurried over to Vincent and hid behind his red cloak. 

Cloud glanced at her visible shoes as she used Vincent’s cloak as a shield. “Marlene, please give me some time. There’s a battle to be fought… but it’s not as simple as just fighting it. Understand?”   


“No, I don’t!”   
  
Adriel frowned at him. “How could she understand, Cloud? I don’t think this is just about fighting.”

Vincent nodded at Adriel. “I don’t think it is either, Cloud?”   


Cloud seemed to space out for a moment, his blue eyes glued on to the ground below him. Adriel stumbled upwards and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Cloud…?”   
  
Cloud blinked, then stared back at Adriel. “Do you think sins are ever forgiven?”   
  
Adriel’s blinked, gazing down at the softly swaying blades of grass. His thoughts drifted to Aerith and her soft features, then his little sister laughing with him after he stole food for them to eat when he was a teenager in Midgar, praying to their deceased parents before they’d curl up to sleep in dark alleys; Aerith’s gentle embrace as she held him in the church as he wailed, his little sister’s blood splattered on his clothes. 

Adriel fell silent, glancing away from him, Cloud's eyes lingering on his face. "I'm not sure, Cloud."   


Vincent’s voice broke through his thoughts. “Well, I’ve never tried.”   


Cloud stared at Vincent, evidently shocked at his response. “What do you mean… You've never tried?”   
  
Vincent glanced at Adriel, his red eyes narrowing, analysing his expression. Cloud huffed staring down at Marlene, “Let’s go.” She smiled widely and rushed over to his side, grasping her small hand in his. Cloud sharply stared over at Adriel. “You coming?” He asked gently.   
  
Adriel silently limped over to him, dipping his head. Cloud’s lips upturned slightly. Adriel walked over to him, wrapping his arm around Cloud’s shoulders for support. “I’m gonna try,” Cloud stated back at Vincent. “I’ll phone in the verdict.”   
  
Vincent smirked as he walked away from him, heading through the overgrown pathways of glowing trees.


	7. Diversions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of action scenes in it, hopefully I can update this fanfic daily.

“What’s the plan then, Cloud?” Adriel asked as he limped close to him.

Cloud hummed in thought. “Not sure, I want to make sure Tifa and Denzel are alright.”   
  
“I’ve got a hunch the brothers will have split from here, they’re most likely gathering up an army,” Adriel concluded, pursing his lips in thought. Cloud’s eyes lingered on his lips for a moment, but he diverted his attention as Adriel stared at him. “We’ll need to get back up.”   
  
Marlene nodded. “What about daddy and Vincent?”   
  
“Barret…?” Cloud frowned. “Maybe, I think he would have finished his mission… It’s worth a try.”   
  
Adriel pulled out his phone, passing it to Cloud smiling. “Here. You should call him.”   
  
Cloud hesitated for a moment, his eyes flooding with guilt. He glanced up at Adriel, his lips slightly parted. “I… I haven’t called him in a while.. Or even talked to him.”   
  
“He’s your friend, Cloud,” Adriel said softly. “I’m sure he’ll understand.”   
  
Marlene gripped Cloud’s hand tighter. “You’ll be fine, Cloud.”   
  
After a few moments, Cloud dialled the number into the keypad and placed the ringing phone close to his right ear.

“Who’s callin’?” A muffled gruff voice answered, silence fell for a few moments then his voice sounded again, slightly louder than before. “I said who’s calling?”

"It’s me, Cloud. Marlene’s safe…” Cloud began. “I think Edge won’t be though. I need your help.”   
  
“Spiky! What a surprise, haven’t heard from you for a while,” Barrett growled, then an audible sigh fell from the other side of the phone. “Well, as seen as you kept your promise of keeping Marlene safe, I’ll do it. On one condition.”   
  
“What?” Cloud asked.

“Pick up the damn phone when I call you,” Barret yelled, Cloud moved the phone slightly away from his ear, then when the noise died down; he placed it over it again. “Ya hear me, stamp?”   
  
“...Whatever,” Cloud eventually rested on saying.

Barret fell silent for a few moments. “Oi, Cloud, this isn’t even your number. Have you got a new phone?”

“No, I’m borrowing this phone,” Cloud replied.

“From who?”   
  
“Uh… A friend,” Cloud stated.

Adriel smiled down at his shoes as he trudged through the grass.

“Well, tell him thanks,” Barret exclaimed. “Without him, I wouldn’t have known what the hell was going on. Could I have a word with Marlene too?”   
  
“Yeah, sure,” Cloud stated, passing the phone to Marlene as she grinned cheekily up at Cloud. His eyes flickered away from her. “You don’t mind do you?”

Adriel shrugged, a laidback smile on his face. “It’s fine, Cloud. I have unlimited data.”   
  
Cloud huffed a laugh. “Right.”

After Marlene had finished her conversation with her dad, she passed the phone back to Adriel and followed Cloud to Fenrir. He placed Marlene carefully onto the back of it, then eyed Adriel as he maneuvered around them, Cloud strode over to him, supporting his weight. Adriel smiled in thanks then got into Rude’s car, Cloud moved over to Fenrir and sat down on the leather seat in front of Marlene; revving the engine impatiently as his blond hair shifted from light gusts of wind. Adriel turned the key into the ignition of his vehicle, the engine whirring into the cold air then stopping again. 

Instead of leaving without him, Cloud stayed sitting down, his feet firmly planted on the grass to stabilize Fenrir. Adriel nodded to Cloud once the car started, then they both began driving down the long and winding road stretching for miles in front of them.

Adriel tried to keep his focus on the bumping path as he drove, his body weary. Unfortunately, Cloud didn’t have any cure materia he could use on his injuries; since the Sephiroth wannabes had stolen off with the box of them Cloud had in the church, so he had to ignore the throbbing pain in his shoulder. 

After twenty minutes had subsided, they finally saw the entrance of Edge in the distance; rusted green road signs pointing with white arrows towards the different areas of the city. Adriel frowned, noting that something felt off about the streets as he swerved around roundabouts. No beeping cars or ignorant citizens littered the town square; except it was replaced with a hoard of angry people that grew clearer the closer Cloud and Adriel drove. 

Cloud glanced at him, gesturing for him to roll his window down. Adriel abided, then lent his head slightly out of the window; the cold air nipping at his exposed skin. Cloud moved his body weight slightly to the side, leading Fenrir smoothly closer to the car. He glanced up at Adriel. “I want to take Marlene back to 7th Heaven, so she’ll be safe.”   
  
“Got it,” Adriel replied, his brown hair drifting with the wind as he rested one of his arms on the top of the wound down glass. “I’ll go into the town square and see if I can be of help to anyone.”   
  
Cloud nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”    
  
Adriel smiled at him, giving a quick salute in jest as Cloud and Marlene drove further into the distance and down one of the cobbled street corners.

Adriel clumsily parked his car in one of the cracked gravel paths, a few feet away from the rioting crowd clawing at the air and yelling profanities. Adriel shoved his way by them as if he was a slinky. 

“Give us our children back!”   
  
“What is wrong with you sick freaks?”   
  
“Give me back my baby!”   
  
“This looks bad,” Adriel murmured, managing to grapple his way to the front of the growing crowd; the bodies around him nearly crushing him as they stood shoulder to shoulder. His blue eyes landed upon two familiar silver-haired men, Yazoo and his brother. They stood on the ShinRa-built monument to Meteor, their alien eyes scouring the crowd as they tightened chains around the pedestal. 

Blank eyed children stood like statues in a perfect circle around the monument, their chins angled to the floor. 

“How can you sickos justify this?”

“What do you think you’re doing? Give us back our children! Hey – can’t you hear us?”   
  
Yazoo rolled his eyes, stepping over some of the chains that stubbornly gripped at the stone bricks. He murmured something to Yazoo, his eyes glinting maliciously. Adriel’s stomach twisted in knots, he swiftly turned around to the crowd as they continued yelling. “SHUT UP!” Adriel shouted as loud as his lungs could muster, some of the yellings died down. “RUN! NOW!”   
  
Yazoo’s brother raised his hand, some taking Adriel’s comment on board and bolting away from the cluster of bodies. Without thinking twice; he lunged towards the leaner brother before he could summon shadow creepers; he tackled the man to the ground, roughly hitting him with the hilt of his gun. 

His blue eyes became rounded, flashes of white whirring in his scrambled brain, dragging his memories back in time. 

Adriel’s feet clashing with the hot ground with Reno slumped over his shoulders, coughing weakly; fire grappling at anything it could reach as orange and blue lights circled around in the sky. Reeves stared behind himself as he ran, his lips parted as he panted. “Adriel! What are you doing?”   
  
Adriel skidded to a halt as a little girl clutching at her mother’s corpse wailed, smoke looming closer to her small form.    
  
“Shit,” Adriel spat. 

He grabbed ahold of her hand, dragging her upwards. His left arm still supported Reno’s limp body as he dashed towards the slums. Adriel skidded to a halt, placing Reno down next to Reeve’s near a small lake in the back of the slums, he turned the small girl to look at him. “Is anyone else out there? Your family?”   
  
“My little brother,” she stammered, her eyes bloodshot and her skin bruised. 

“Where is he?” Adriel breathed, his hands resting on her shoulders.   
  
“He was with my mum, but he got separated because of the crowd. He has blond hair and brown eyes, he’s wearing dark clothes.”

Reeves grabbed hold of Adriel’s wrist before he could turn and race back into the flames. He stared stubbornly at his superior officer. “What do you think you’re doing you could get killed out there.”   
  
“So could he!” Adriel snapped, pointing his finger outside of the slums. “I’m not letting her lose her little brother.”   
  
Reeves grabbed hold of his wrist tighter. “Adriel.”   
  
He pulled his arm away from him. “No, I’m going, sir. If I can buy them a few more seconds near the lake, they have more of a chance of staying alive.”

His hands firmly supporting the feeble body of the girl’s brother as he moaned in exhaustion. “Come on, don’t give up on me.” Adriel panted as his legs carried him closer to the slums. “Come on.”

Burning wood collapsed in front of him as he stumbled backwards, still gripping hold of the child and using his body to protect him from harm. He yowled out as the heat burned into his skin, as he tried to find a way round.    
  
“Fuck,” Adriel muttered breathlessly. “There’s no way out of this.”   
  
Crashing and clattering shattered around his hearing, a shaky sigh released onto the nape of his neck as the weight behind him suddenly lifted; the Lifestream spiralled around him passing by his fingertips. A blurred face with burning bright blue eyes and blond hair grabbed hold of him, pulling him forwards. Tears poured from Adriel’s eyes as he ran. “I lost him.”   
  
“Don’t look back,” the man yelled through the smoke, his gloved hand coiled around Adriel’s own. “Keep running.”

“ADRIEL!”

Flashing colours dragged him back to the present, as the silver-haired men tumbled and tousled on the cold ground on the monument with Adriel, distant screams and thudding steps surrounded them. People parted in several directions, running around as if they were missing their heads. Sharp knuckles bolted into Adriel’s jawline, blood splattering on to the floor. He stumbled backwards, his blue eyes widening as the man raised his hand, shadows spiralled into the air in a distorted frenzy then multiple forms of four-legged beasts formed out of the darkness. Their skeletal tails thrashing furiously as they drooled from splitting mouths. 

Adriel took out his gun from his holster, firing rounds of bullets into the grotesque creatures as they charged wildly towards him; saliva pouring from their mouths as they reared upwards.

A voice snapped him out of his head, shadows surrounding him as they lunged at him. A force knocked him backwards, he rolled on the floor, then lifted himself upwards; his eyes landing on Reno and Rude. He scrambled to his feet, his lip busted. “Reno! Rude! You’re okay!”   
  
Reno turned to him as he ducked out of the way of one of the shadow creepers, Rude tackled into the monster, shooting it dead. “Yeah,” Reno breathed heavily, his chest heaving. “You’re okay, right?”   
  
Adriel nodded, racing to his side. “Have you been getting the citizens out of the plaza?”   
  
“Yes,” Reno affirmed, stepping closer to Adriel. “About fifty citizens or so. Tifa is helping us out too, she says AVALANCHE should be regrouping to help us out.”   
  
“All of AVALANCHE?” Adriel murmured, he nodded; smiling widely. “Right, well, since they haven’t arrived yet. Let’s get the children away from those freaks.”   
  
“Right, lead the way,” Reno stated as Adriel moved by his shoulders and ran towards the circle of blank-eyed kids. Adriel gripped at one of them, on a closer inspection of the child’s eyes, they looked just like Yazoo’s, Kadaj’s…. Sephiroth. Vincent was right.

Five minutes ticked by like weeks as Reno, Rude and Adriel pulled the kids away from the pedestal, and shoving them firmly but gently into safety. Shadow creepers darted around them as they charged towards Yazoo and his brother. They skidded to a halt, Reno stared at them with blazing eyes. 

“We know. Mother is here,” Yazoo cooed.

Rude folded his arms as he approached them. “Oh yeah?”   
  
Yazoo’s brother gestured towards the monument, waving his hand lazily at it. “Yeah. This thing… Monument thing? Shinra made it.”

“So you think we hid her here?” Reno asked, smirking as Rude eyed Yazoo.

“Why ask us?” Rude inquired, deadpan.

Reno turned to Adriel, nudging him lightly and winking. “Where we hid her is classified info”   
  
Adriel glared at his friend through his eyelashes. “You idiot.”   
  
“What? Oh… shit,” Reno murmured.

Rude sighed loudly, covering his head with his hands.

Yazoo giggled, moving closer to them. “Ah-ha! Seems you do have something to hide.”   
  
Adriel took his gun out, staring at Reno. “Well, there goes that plan.”   
  
Reno sighed, then raised his weapon rushing towards Yazoo and his brother. Rude launched himself at the heftier built of the two, throwing heavy punches at him. While they were both distracted, Adriel took the opportunity to sneak up behind them both and shoot bullets into Yazoo’s legs.

He yelped in pain, then twirled around, rushing towards Adriel. He pinned him against the wall, his arm glowing with materia. Storm clouds spun around them, thunder crashing into the distance. A smug smirk tugged at Yazoo’s lips as Adriel struggled, kicking out at him. “Looks like your time is up.”   
  
Adriel’s eyes widened, the cat-like slits dilating, Yazoo’s face flickering momentarily into Sephiroth’s. 

“Didn’t think you’d see me again?” A sensual voice growled through his head.   


Adriel craned his head back, then crashed his forehead down into Yazoo’s nose. Yazoo dropped him as he staggered backwards, his legs weakened from the wounds Adriel inflicted onto him. 

Reno stood in front of Adriel, his weapon readied, then his eyes grew large; almost popping from his head as he shakily pointed upwards at the descending shadow from the sky. “That ain’t a very large shadow creeper is it?”

Tifa joined their side with Rude, she glanced back as crowds of people tried to get away from the active battlefield. She stared at Reno, frowning worriedly. “...A Bahamut Sin.”

“Didn’t think I’d see one of those for a while,” Reno stated spinning his weapon, then resting it on his shoulder casually. “Welp here goes nothing, I guess.”   
  
“Wait,” Tifa ordered. “If you and Rude fight with us, no one will be able to slow down Yazoo and Loz. We need to split into teams if we’re going to take care of two problems at once. Adriel?”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“You’ll stay with me,” Tifa stated.

Adriel glanced back at Reno and Rude as they stared at him worriedly. “I’ll hold this thing back while we’re waiting for backup,” Adriel affirmed. “I’ll meet you guys halfway.”   
  
Reno smiled widely. “Right, come on, let’s go catch those silver-haired freaks, Rude.”   
  
Tifa clenched her fists close to her chest, moving her left foot forwards on the stones. Adriel raised his weapon aiming for it’s mouth as its muscular wings propelled it through the air, closer and closer towards the panicking civilians. “I’ve never had the pleasure of fighting one of these bastards before, so I’ll just go with my gut feeling.”   
  
Tifa nodded. “Aiming for its mouth and membrane is a good idea, it’s not covered in armour.”

Adriel aimed his gun, firing at the Bahamut Sin’s wings and mouth, slowing it down by a smidgen. It threw its enormous head back, roaring in fury, then it turned its attention to Adriel and Tifa as they stood firmly on the pedestal. Adriel continued firing as a ball of glowing blue built-in its mouth. But overall, it seemed ineffective. Tifa launched upwards toward it, smashing its head with her fists. Distracted, it started trying to bite at Tifa as she dodged out of the way of its attacks.

A machine gun boomed through the streets as Tifa was thrown backwards from the Bahamut Sin, landing safely onto the floor below. She stared up at Barret, grinning. “How are you doing!”   
  
“Great!” He grunted roughly, staring over at Adriel. “You alright?”   
  
Adriel nodded, standing close to them both; bullets plummeting through the air as Barret fired another round into the Bahamut Sin’s face. He turned to Adriel as Tifa rushed towards it again. “You must be Cloud’s new “friend”, huh?”   
  
“Uh, yeah,” Adriel stammered.

“Cheers, scamp,” Barret flashed a quick grin, roughly but playfully, shoving him. “Thanks for looking after Marlene too.”   
  
“Anytime.”   
  
Tifa came plummeting towards the ground again, clumsily smacking into Adriel. They both toppled to the floor with a loud discomforted grunt. She pulled herself away from him, muttering a quick apology and brushing herself down as Barret continued firing at it. Familiar voices yelled in the distance, Adriel turned his head, the wind pushing through his hair. Reno and Rude were struggling against Yazoo and Loz, stumbling backwards.

“I’m going to give them a hand,” Adriel stated, glancing at Tifa. “Is that okay?”   
  
She nodded. “Barret and I will try holding it off a little longer before it blows up the plaza.”   
  
Adriel rushed towards his friends as they circled Loz and Yazoo. A malicious smile spread on Loz's face. “You guys having fun yet?”   
  
“The time of my life!” Reno faked happiness, although his tone spat venom.  Yazoo jumped upwards, landing on a building; staring down at them as if they were ants he could burn. “What? Just as soon as you give back Mother, that’ll be the end of everything.”

Adriel scaled up the building as Reno and Rude tackled Loz. He plunged his fist in Yazoo’s smug face, then tumbled backwards as a launch of energy spiralled towards his body. Yazoo pinned him down close to the edge, punching his cheeks and stomach, then Adriel pulled roughly away from him suplexing Yazoo into the metal floor. Clumsily, Yazoo got up, staring at Adriel. “How’s your arm doing?”   
  
“Piss off!”

Reno stumbled back, gritting his teeth. “You alright up there?”   
  
Adriel dodged some of Yazoo’s incoming attacks, then yelled quickly down. “Yeah! Super!”   


Reno turned his attention back to Loz as Rude fell on the floor. “Punks! What do you need Jenova’s head for? Forget your little Reunion and get a grip!”

Yazoo kicked Adriel close to the edge of the scaffolding once again, his boot crushing his fingers as he clutched on. “All we want is to be with Mother!”

He kicked at Adriel’s chest, sending him flying downwards into the gravel; just as he tried to stumble upwards Reno was thrown towards him, tumbling on the ground. Reno winced for a moment, then stared at Adriel as he attempted to untangle himself. “Well, this is an intimate position,” Reno joked.

“Yeah, be great if you could focus on the task at hand!” Adriel huffed.  Reno got up and offered his hand to him, dragging him from the floor. A metal sign spiralled through the air advertising LOVELESS, it smacked into Rude’s head and he dizzily sidestepped. “Son of a-” 

As Loz laughed at him Adriel tackled him to the floor and something cracked beneath Loz’s muscular body. “You must have a bad back,” Adriel quipped.

Loz smacked him off of him, getting shakily to his feet. “Mother will know. When she gets here, she’ll decide what’s best. Now, where’s Mother?”

Rude reached out to something on the floor; no longer having sunglasses concealing his eyes. Yazoo jumped down from the building, joining his brother as he casually strolled by Reno, Rude and Adriel. 

Reno dusted himself down, then fiddled with his weapon. “Mother, shmother. It’s Jenova’s frigging head!”   
  
Rude placed some more sunglasses over his face, a satisfied smile creeping on his lips.

“Hey! You meanie!” Loz exclaimed.

“I will not have you refer to Mother that way,” Yazoo snarled.

“Aww, shucks, sorry about that fellas,” Adriel smiled sweetly as he stepped forwards. 

Reno stepped closer to Adriel, mirroring his body language. “Your ma’s cool –” He took out his weapon, his face suddenly serious as he charged at them. “What the hell am I saying?!”

After a few more minutes of fighting, Reno, Rude and Adriel were cast aside by the two brothers, as Bahamut Sin roared in the sky, firing flames over the plaza, shrill screams filled the air as Barret and Tifa tried to defend some of the pedestrians from the implosion. 

Adriel tried to move his body but he couldn’t, fear coursed through his veins as sparks of flames spread over the buildings and people splayed out on the pavement, he shook uncontrollably, reliving his experience from two-years go when he evacuated Midgar. Then a hand clasped his shoulder, dragging him into the present.    
  
“You okay?” Rude asked, his head badly bruised.

Adriel nodded up at him. “I’m going to find survivors.”   
  
“Not by yourself, you won’t,” a familiar dark gritty voice sounded behind him.   
  
“Vincent?” Adriel asked sharply.

“Yes,” he stated bluntly “I need a phone.”   
  
Reno blinked in confusion. “And how does this relate to anything?”   
  
Vincent gripped at Adriel’s left hand, his red eyes looking back at him. “Are you ready?”   
  
Adriel glanced back at Reno and Rude as Loz and Yazoo rushed towards them both again. Reno dodged one of Loz’s attacks, glancing back at Adriel. “We’ll be fine! Go!”   
  
Adriel nodded back at him, staring up at Vincent as he briefly squeezed his hand in a reassuring grasp; Vincent and Adriel ran past corpses and broken remnants of buildings as AVALANCHE began fighting against the Bahamut Sin. Adriel yelled orders at the residents frantically running, herding them to safety with Vincent and sheltering them all from the bursts of flames.    


Vincent glanced back at Adriel as he sprinted, his metal hand clutching at Adriel’s own. “Over there!”   
  
Adriel blinked, searching the area where Vincent was staring at. A flash of blue spread through the pavement cracks spreading like thunder through the concrete. A little boy was stranded close to the edge holding the hand of what seemed to be his sister. 

“I’ll go and get them,” Adriel stated. “I’m not letting the past repeat itself.” 

With trembling hands, Adriel darted over to them, wavering on his feet as he jumped over to them, reaching out to them before the ground under their feet crumbled - but it was too late. 

Adriel’s stomach felt as if it was lifted upwards as he tumbled downwards, clutching the children to his stomach and twirling his body around, away from the ground as he fell. Rags of his coat ripped onto the sides of the walls, the ground below him a gaping hole. His knuckles turned white as he gripped at a stray brick trapped amongst the mountain of falling rubble; his other arm wrapped around the kids, preventing them from falling.

Light seeped into Adriel’s irises as he squinted upwards, searching for some way to climb out of the hole. “Need a hand?” A thick Scottish accent jested. Adriel glanced up seeing a large robot and a familiar grey and white cat sitting on top of it.    
  
Something swept him and the kids upwards, dragging them to safety as AVALANCHE jumped up at the Bahamut Sin in the fogged-over distance. The grey and white cat grinned down at Adriel. “I’ll get the kids to safety, you worry about yourself.”   
  
Adriel nodded, the robot Moogle beneath the cat scooped up the kids and swiftly darted to safety with them. 

Dirt speckled Adriel’s cheeks and torso, his clothes frayed as he stood up. He sighed down at his favourite coat being ruined but then the screech of a roaring motorcycle skidding to a halt echoed through the plaza. Adriel turned to the source of the sound, his blue eyes landing on blond hair.

Cloud stared over at him, his cold expression warming as he parked Fenrir. 

“Cloud! You’re here!” Adriel exclaimed smirking, placing his arms over his chest. “It took you long enough, I thought you’d never-”   


Cloud rushed over to his side, placing his arms around Adriel’s torso. “You okay?”   
  
Adriel’s cheeks dust pink at the unexpected embrace, he nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think.” Adriel returned his hold, his hands tracing the fabric of Cloud’s loosely hanging jacket. “You?”   
  
“I’m fine.” Cloud tore his warm body away from Adriel’s, although his hands still lingered on Adriel’s forearms, his Mako infused eyes reluctantly moved away from Adriel’s face, staring upwards as Tifa and Yuffie attacked the Bahamut Sin. “I’ll go and help them.”   
  
Adriel smiled at him weakly. “Okay.”

Cloud ruffled his hair as he passed him, then he tore away his jet black coat, revealing a red band tied around his muscular forearm, black marks crawling up his skin - Geostigma. He rushed away from him, jumping upwards and landing on the scaffolding, near Cid.

Adriel watched in awe as he scaled up the building, his friends grabbing at his spare hand and launching upwards closer to the Bahamut Sin with ease. “Cloud’s sick too?”

Whispers tickled through Adriel’s ears. “Project X, my second successful test.”

He looked around but couldn’t seem to see anyone standing by him, instead, he was greeted by the empty air rushing by his clothes. “What the hell?”

Shrugging, Adriel joined Reno and Rude’s side by the bottom of an unfinished tower as they defended themselves against Yazoo and Loz.

A sharp sound reverberated through the air as beams of blue light shot through the sky from the top of the building, he turned his head, shadows falling over him, as his brown hair fell over his blue eyes. He spotted Kadaj leaning over the edge of the unfinished building, someone falling from the top floor, a box clutched in their hand - Rufus.

Adriel took in a sharp intake of breath as he darted forwards, his stomach feeling as if it was a sinking boat. Reno, Adriel and Rude yelled out as Rufus shot rounds of bullets upwards as he plummeted towards the ground, some of them scraping passed Kadaj as he jumped after him, lunging towards the box screaming out. “Mother!”

Rufus twisted his body around, firing one of the bullets into the box. It clinked against it, then liquid poured from it like a wound, Kadaj squinted against the rush of wind hitting his face as he cradled the box in his arms. 

In the distance, the purring of an engine grew louder as the Turks stood as if they were frozen in time; then seemingly out of nowhere, a fire net stretched underneath Rufus’s body, shielding him from the fall. Kadaj landed on the ground with ease, the box clutched in his arms. He slowly rose to his feet and inspected the liquid dripping from its corner. 

Yazoo and Loz shoved past Reno, Rude and Adriel, walking close to their brother, their slitted eyes an ocean of worry. Kadaj stood up, narrowing his eyes at the growing sound of the motorcycle, swiftly, he rushed over to his motorcycle and mounted it, his brothers following soon after him on their vehicles.

The three of them raced by, Cloud quick on their trail. Smoke billowed from behind Fenrir as he passed Adriel, his Mako infused eyes set in front of him on Kadaj. He drove into the distance as Adriel over to Rufus’s side, he smiled down at him and offered him his hand, Rufus took his hand, hosting himself upwards; the hood no longer concealing his face. He looked at Adriel, his eyes clouded and his lips firmly straightened. He placed his hands behind his back as Reno and Rude stood in front of him.

Adriel gasped in surprise as slender hands coiled around his stomach. “How are you doing, little guy?” A soft voice tweeted   
  
“Elena!?” Adriel stammered, he turned himself around, his vision landing on Tseng and Elena, at first he thought they were ghosts, here to collect his soul. But then, the realisation they were alive and well hit him, relief flooded through his body like a river, he relaxed smile painted his lips. “It’s good to have you back.”   
  
Reno chuckled as Rufus nodded to the five of them, then he looked at the road stretching ahead of them, tire marks embedded into the concrete. “The remnants have obtained Jenovah’s head.”   
  
Tseng frowned. “We need to stop them, sir. Elena and I-”   
  
“No,” Rufus stated dryly. “You two need to stay as back up for this mission, you have done enough.”   
  
Elena stared down at the ground in frustration but remained silent as Rufus stepped forwards, his white clothes swaying around his ankles. “Adriel.”   
  
“Yes… Sir?” Adriel replied, his blue eyes large as he gazed at him, it had been too long since he had called him that.

“You will go with Reno and Rude to prevent them from escaping,” Rufus stated. “When you return, which I expect the three of you to do without a problem, I want to speak with you in private, Adriel.”

Adriel blinked, his long lashes fluttering, then he nodded. “Roger that.”

Rufus turned to Elena and Tseng, his lips upturned; only slightly. “There’s a spare helicopter in the back if you need to use it.” His eyes flitted over to the other three Turks. “Be careful.”   
  
Warmth fell over Adriel’s shoulders as wild red hair crossed his peripheral vision. He turned his head towards Reno, his eyes shadowed with worry and fatigue. “Well, Mr I no longer wish to be a Turk” Reno jested, his slender fingers resting on Adriel’s left forearm. “I think those freaks are planning on going to Midgar - what’s left of it. It’s up to us to hold ‘em off, and you always were talented in coming up with diversions.”   
  
Adriel huffed, lightly pushing him. “Right, I’ll think of something on the way.”   
  
Reno patted him, then lured him away from the destroyed plaza; now emptied of pedestrians. His sluggish feet tread through the gravel, finally coming to a stop at a helicopter. Rude gawked at it, lowering his sunglasses. Then he walked up the steps, leaning against its entrance, a smirk tugging his lips. “Any ideas?”   
  
“They’re going to Midgar, right? Using the highway?”   
  
“Yeah,” Rude dipped his head.

  
Adriel’s lips curled upwards. “Then, how about a fireworks show?”   
  
Reno giggled. “Y’know what? I like that idea.”   
  
Tseng and Elena followed behind the three of them. Tseng eyed them seriously. “If you need any help, call us on the radio. We’ll be close behind you, just out of sight.”   



	8. Fireworks Show

Half an hour passed by as Reno, Rude and Adriel pursued Cloud in their helicopter as he rode down the desolate roads on Fenrir. Adriel placed bullets into his gun, aiming it at Loz as he tried to catch up to Cloud. Reno grinned, placing a hand over Adriel’s weapon. “I don’t think you’re going to need that. We have something better.”   
  
“Why? Are you going to throw yourself at them?” Adriel quipped dryly.

Rude snorted, earning a sharp nudge in the ribs from Reno’s bony elbow. He turned back to Adriel smiling. “No, we’ve got a machine gun.” Reno leant dangerously close to the windows, a manic grin on his face as he yelled at the world below him. “You losers are chasing the wrong guy!”   
  
Bullets flew through the air, scraping against Loz’s motorcycle. He firmly planted his feet onto the dusty ground, turning his bike around to face them as he fired back. “Bang bang! B-b-b-b-b-b- bang! Yeah!”   
  
Rude passed Adriel a hefty rocket launcher, he gripped it in his hands as he shifted closer to the open window, his brown hair wildly pushing back against the turbulence. “Careful now!” Rude grunted as rounds of bullets tapped against the sides of the helicopter. “Try to aim at the road.”   
  
“I’ve got a better idea,” Adriel stated tiredly, he aimed the rocket launcher towards the tilted metal supports, holding the highway in place. He released the rocket into the air with a mighty bang, it flew through the atmosphere, crashing into the supports; red sparks flew through the blue sky as cracking metal echoed, then soon after crashing into concrete. Through the smoke and dust particles, silhouettes of Yazoo and Loz skidded to a halt; their intended route now destroyed. 

Reno bellowed out with laughter, lightly shaking Adriel. “Yeah!”   
  
Adriel huffed, leaning his body back against the seat as sweat beaded on his forehead. Reno paused, staring at him in worry. “Yo, you okay?”   
  
A sharp intake of breath split through the air as Rude turned his head, silver hair and sharp green eyes passing by the window as Yazoo curved his bike into the air, a gun pointed close to Rude’s skull. In the nick of time, he ducked out of the way, but the helicopter tilted as his hand fell off of the cyclic, his body tumbling out of the helicopter. Another two bullets were shot through the air, Reno shielded Adriel, throwing them both to the floor, then something cracked in the control panel. Yazoo’s mouth formed into a snarling grin as he fell back towards the broken road on his motorcycle, revving its engine.

“Rude!” Reno yowled, leaning out of the open entrance, his eyes grew wide as the cyclic gripped in his hand, fell from his grip and onto the floor. Reno rushed away from Adriel, searching for Rude. “No! No! No! Don’t do this to me!”   
  
Adriel’s vision distorted in and out of focus, Sephiroth’s face rushing through his head; flashes of memories he didn’t even know he had gripping at his mind. Broken test tubes littered the back of a dark room, shattered glass dusting the damp ground. Silver hair fell close to his face, an index finger and thumb lightly pushing his chin upwards. “Professor Hojo left you both hidden away from Shinra for all these years? Why? You’re not a SOLDIER, you’re not a Turk and your sister is certainly nothing special.” A drawling voice fell through his ears.    
  
Adriel’s body swayed to the side as the helicopter spun out of control, dizzily heading towards one of the broken metal supports. Arms wrapped tightly around his torso as a loud explosion heated the cold air. His body tumbled toward the concrete, cushioned by someone underneath him. Low groans fell through his ears, warmth falling over his chest. “Hey! Wake up, Ad! AD!”   
  
“Your body reacts strangely to the Mako, Hojo must have kept you in here, hidden from the SOLDIERS and even from President Shinra himself. Don’t worry though, I’ll take good care of both of you.”

“Who are you?” His sister's weak voice resounded.

“Me?” The drawling voice stated in amusement. “Well, I’m-”

Adriel’s vision blurred back into focus, red hair falling over his face as bright eyes stared down at him. “You’re awake! You’re okay.”   
  
A splitting headache split through the middle of his brain. “I- ugh…” Adriel muttered as he attempted to sit up. “I feel sick.” He shakily pushed his body upwards, the world around him spinning violently, fingers interlocked through his own as he lurched forwards gagging dryly, black ooze formed from his mouth, dripping onto the floor.

“It’s okay,” Reno tried to reassure him, rubbing his free hand on his back. “You’ll be alright. Come on, let’s get you out of here.”   
  
“No,” Adriel meekly said. “...Cloud.”   
  
“Cloud will be fine, he’s a big boy. Right now, I think you’re a bit more of a concern,” Reno stated coldly. “Come on, get up. I’ll call Tseng and Elena.”   
  
Adriel stumbled upwards, Reno’s hands supporting his weight. His head fell on his friend’s shoulder, his breath shuddering as it fell from his cold lips. “Reno… What was I before I became a Turk?”   
  
“What?” Reno blinked, then his brows furrowed, strands of his red hair falling over his slender face. “Where’d that come from? You worked with us for a month-”   
  
“I know that,” Adriel replied dryly, his cheek still resting on Reno’s shoulder. “But what about before then? My sister and I… We had nothing. We were finding food on the street before she was taken from me. I don’t even remember my parents' faces.”   
  
Static rippled through his brain as shadows surrounded him and his sister as she clung to his forearm; an expressionless face staring down at them, then a series of white flashes shot through his mind, shattered glass and lab coats neatly hung up on a metal coat hanger.

“My head…”

Rude emerged from the fog, speaking on the radio to Elena and Tseng, he placed it back into his pocket and smoothed out the creases in his suit as he stepped forward. “What’s wrong, Adriel?”   
  
“I don’t know…”   
  
Reno stared at Rude. “I think it’s the geostigma, it’s spreading. We need to do something, or he’ll-”   
  
“No,” Adriel growled. “This isn’t just the geostigma… my memories, something I can’t remember....”   
  
“What do you mean?” Reno asked, brushing some of Adriel’s fringe from his face

“Sephiroth… Did I know him?” Adriel breathed tiredly. Reno visibly cringed upon hearing Sephiroth’s name, he looked at Rude. Adriel’s arms shook as he stared at the ground distantly.    
  
“Sephiroth worked as a SOLDIER at Shinra for a while,” Reno stated. “He did come in a month before the meteor struck to talk with Rufus, but we didn’t get to see him. Maybe you saw him in passing?”   
  
“No,” Adriel said. “It’s like I’ve seen him before. I even remember seeing Cloud back in Midgar, but I don’t remember why I had gone into 7th Heaven that day. Surely, I would have recalled his face when I met him last month after Yuffie tried to steal one of my paintings, but I didn’t - like it was blacked out.”

“What you’re saying is, you think something is messing with your memories?” Rude inquired. 

“I don’t know,” Adriel unhelpfully responded. “But why am I remembering this now?”   
  
“Hey guys!” A voice echoed through the air.    
  
Adriel glanced tiredly up, seeing Elena waving down at them as she stood inside a helicopter. “We’re throwing you some ladders, hang on!”   
  
After a few minutes, the three of them managed to hoist themselves into the helicopter. Elena smirked at Reno. “I knew you’d need our help. What would you do without us?”   
  
Reno rolled his eyes, resting his arm behind Adriel. “What are we going to do with him? He’s too ill to help with the mission.”   
  
Tseng glanced behind his shoulder as he drove the helicopter. “You know what he’s like, he was unwell when the evacuation happened back in Midgar. Nothing will stop him from trying to help people.”   
  
“Yeah, but, he can’t even help himself,” Reno argued. “I don’t want to lose another Turk.”   
  
“You’d think you’re both together with how much you fuss over him,” Elena stated dryly as she turned her attention back to the control panel.

Reno tried to protest but Adriel laughed lightly, his eyes closing from exhaustion. “She’s right, you know?”   
  
“What about the fireworks?” Rude asked through the silence.

“Well, Ad can’t exactly make one now,” Reno informed him as Adriel snoozed beside him. “You do it.”   
  
Tseng smirked back at Rude. “Yeah, you do it, Rude.”   



	9. Revelations

Adriel’s dreams were lucid, filled with neon signs and smoking SOLDIERs, laughing and talking about AVALANCHE. His feet tread through the Midgar streets, his breath choked in his throat. A hood concealed his face as footsteps echoed behind him, a small hand clutched in his own. Eventually, he shouldered by the residents, trailing inside of the old 7th Heaven bar, Barret, Tifa and Cloud were all talking on one of the tables. Marlene sat close to them as she drew pictures into a book. 

Adriel vaguely recalled this, the first time he came to 7th Heaven in Midgar.

He walked close to them, catching their attention with the click of his shoes on the wooden floor, shadows falling over his face from the thin fabric of his hood. “Excuse me,” he stated, although his voice sounded strangled and hoarse. “Where am I?”  
  
“Midgar,” Tifa replied. “Are you lost?”   
  
“I - I don’t know,” Adriel stammered, the smell of blood filling his nostrils.   
  
“You’ve got blood all over your clothes,” Tifa observed, she slowly stood up. “Do you need some help? I have a first aid kit.”   
  
Adriel felt as if he was being controlled by strings. “I came from the Shinra building. I had to get out-”   
  
“Get out?” Barret huffed suspiciously as he side-eyed him, light from the windows reflecting in his hazel eyes. “Are you working for them?”   
  
“No,” Adriel replied tiredly. “Laboratory… I came from the laboratory.”   
  
His brain felt scrambled together, his skin imprinted with scars left by catheters, marks travelling down the rips on the front of his shirt, his chest exposed. Cloud stared at him wordlessly, then Barret broke the silence. “You… escaped from the laboratory?”   
  
“Who’s that behind you?” Tifa asked as she took a few light steps forward.   
  
“My sister,” he said. “She needs help.”   
  
“Seems suspicious to me,” Barret stated, shifting his weight in his seat.

“Someone told me to come here,” Adriel murmured. “He said it would be safe.”  
  
“Who?” Cloud asked.

“His name was-

Adriel choked out, his tongue refusing to state the name.  
  
Cloud frowned. “What?”   
  
Words didn’t leave his lips as he tried to speak, faceless people spiralling through his mind, he clutched his head as his sister clutched onto his arm. 

Tifa stared at him with concern. “How about you sit at the bar, I’ll turn the jukebox off and I’ll get you both some water.”  
  
Adriel wordlessly obliged collapsing on the seat, his breathing shallow as he stared at the assortment of bottles lining the shelves. 

“Who’s that strange man, daddy?” Marlene whispered. 

Adriel felt his eyes flutter closed for a few moments, then footsteps echoed towards him. Brown hair tied into pigtails swayed by his vision as he shakily sat upright, staring down at his little sister. “Mei.”

Mei stared at him tiredly, her sharp blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness. “Who are these people?” she whispered.

“I don’t know, but I think they’re trying to help,” Adriel said.

Mei shyly sat down on a stool beside him, itching her hand. “Will we go back?”  
  
“No,” Adriel said. “We’re safe now”

Tifa moved behind the bar, taking out some glasses and pouring water into them. She placed them in front of the siblings, then her dark eyes gazed at them curiously. “If it isn’t too imposing of me to ask,” Tifa began. “Your eyes… it looks like Mako?”  
  
“Yeah,” Mei murmured.   
  
“Cloud,” Tifa stated as she walked over to him, saying something quietly.   
  
After a few moments, she returned behind the bar, cleaning some of the pots. Cloud approached Adriel’s side. “You,” Cloud stated. “With me.”   
  
He murmured for Mei to stay where she was and trustingly walked over to Cloud. They both sat in the corner of the room. He stared at him blankly. “What’s your name?”   
  
“Adriel,” he replied, the hood still hanging over his gaunt face, concealing his features.   
  
“You came from Shinra?” Cloud asked,

“Yes.”  
  
“I’ve never seen you before,” he replied. “I was a first-class SOLDIER, surely I would have seen you around.”   
  
“I…” Adriel breathed. “I can’t remember. There was a room filled with bodies and empty syringes. Then there was this man, he told me to come here. He told me to go to Sector 7 and that he’d help my sister.”   
  
“A man...?” Cloud asked leaning forward. “Was he a part of SOLDIER?”   
  
“I’m not sure, I’m sorry,” Adriel replied.

“What kind of help did he offer?”

“He said he’d cure her.”  
  
Tifa took an intake of breath as if she were diving underwater, then she called Cloud over. She moved over to Mei’s side. Adriel swiftly got up from his seat and protectively stood in front of his sister. Pushing her behind himself. “What are you doing?”   
  
“Her arm,” Tifa said, her hands over her mouth. “It’s…”   
  
“Mako poisoning,” Cloud finished for her. “She’s sick.”   
  
Adriel stared down at her arm, her skin was leathered and brittle, spikes were protruding from the back of her forearm.   
  
“It’s like the rumours back in Nibelheim, people turning into Makonoids.”   
  
Adriel remained silent as he pulled her sleeve back over her arm. Tifa stepped near him. “Let us help you.”   
  
Mei stared up at Adriel. “Are we going to get a cure?”   
  
“Yeah,” Adriel affirmed, squeezing her hand. He turned to Tifa and Cloud, his hood shadowing his face. “The man said he’d help us.”   
  
“How do you know you can trust this person?” Cloud asked, folding his arms across his chest.

“He saved us,” Adriel said tiredly. 

Cloud stepped in front of him. “What if this is a trap?”  
  
Adriel’s eyes fluttered open, returning to the present. Reno was no longer by his side and Elena and Tseng were murmuring to one another. He propped himself upright, black ooze travelling down his arm, his face paling and his eyes sunken in. 

Pain ripped through his nerves and down his spine as nausea crept into his throat, he leant his head back against the headrest.

_‘I don’t have much time left.’_

Tseng glanced back at him. “I see you’re finally awake, Reno and Rude have made an explosive, it should buy Cloud some more time. Rude used your idea.”  
  
Adriel murmured. “Will Rude and Reno be okay?”   
  
“Yeah,” Elena replied smiling. “They’ll be fine.”   
  
“I want to go down,” Adriel stated.

“You want what?” Tseng blinked, dumbfounded.

“I’m not going to last much longer,” Adriel retorted. “I can at least help them before I go to the Lifestream.”  
  
Silence fell around the three of them. Elena licked her dry lips and shifted in her seat. “You’re dying?”   
  
“The geostigma has spread over my body,” Adriel informed them. “Kadaj was right, I don’t have long left, there’s no cure. I didn’t want to tell Reno. I know he’d take it badly. Please let me… I want to do something useful before I go.” 

Tseng looked back at him. “You…”  
  
“I don’t need your lectures,” Adriel snapped. “It’s the least I can do for the both of you, Reno, Rude and Cloud. If it wasn’t for him…”   
  
“I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?” Tseng asked tiredly.

“No, this is something I’ve decided.”  
  
“Ring Tifa,” Tseng ordered. “If you want to help them, go with AVALANCHE. Cid let us know that he’s using his airship to keep an eye on Cloud.” 

“Okay,” Adriel reluctantly agreed.

He took out his phone, dialling Tifa’s number. Ringing echoed around the cold air, then she picked up. “Hello? Who’s this?”  
  
“It’s Adriel.”   
  
“Adriel…? Is it really you? You sound terrible,” Tifa bluntly remarked.

“Yeah, it’s me. Would you mind asking Cid if I can go to his airship? I want to help you out,” Adriel inquired, picking the dead skin around his nails.

“If you really want to.” Tifa fell silent for a few moments. “I’ll ask him. Hold on.”  
  
A few long minutes passed by as the muffled whirring of the helicopter continued. Then after a few more heartbeats, Tifa’s voice resounded on the phone again. “He said yes, we’re flying close to the slums in Midgar.”   
  
“Right, thanks, I’ll ask if they can meet you there. I’m with Tseng and Elena.”   
  
After a while, Tseng and Elena flew towards the slums, passing Reno and Rude as they swerved away from the highway. They picked them up on the way, silence thickly swirling around them, then they eventually saw Shera in the clouds.

Adriel climbed down the ladders and stumbled over to Cid as he waited for him, stubbornly, Reno decided to travel with him, waving to Elena, Tseng and Rude as they departed on Shera. Tifa rushed over to Adriel, wrapping her arms around him, tightly closing her eyes. Adriel remained silent, staring past her shoulder as he tried to ignore the pain that shot through his veins. 

She released her hold on him and returned to sit beside Yuffie as she bickered with Cid. Reno side-eyed Adriel as he slumped down, trying to stabilize his breathing. “Yo, Adriel.”  
  
“Hm?”   
  
“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” Reno inquired as he slipped down beside him, bruises, cuts and dust straining his skin.

Adriel turned to look at him, resting his back against the wall. “I’m glad you’re okay. Did the explosion work?”  
  
“Don’t evade my question,” Reno ordered. “What’s happening to you?”   
  
Adriel shifted uncomfortably.   
  
“You look so weak,” Reno breathed out. “Tell me, I can fix it. If it’s the geostigma, I can find a cure.”   
  
“It’s too late,” Adriel stated sadly.  
  
“Too late? Cut the crap!” Reno said coldly. "You're not going to die on me, that's an order." 

“I’m sorry, Ren,” Adriel choked out.   
  
A red wolf, lion-like creature eyed him. “You’re not alone, kid.”   
  
Cid leant against the wall. “Red XIII’s right, y’know? Loads of people have geostigma. There’s definitely a cure for it.” 

“I hope you’re right, Cid,” Adriel murmured. “Not for my sake, but for his.”  
  
“Look there’s Cloud!” Yuffie yowled excitedly, jumping up and down. “He’s fighting one of those freaks.”   
  
“Cloud’s fighting Kadaj?” Reno inquired sitting upright to get a better view from the window. “I suppose we managed to ward off those other guys.”

Adriel stumbled upright, walking towards the window and watching as they fought. “Will he be alright down there…?”  
  
“He’s fought worse,” Red XIII remarked, skulking over to Adriel. 

Tifa folded her arms as she leant against the side of the ship. “You know… you look familiar,” she stated, her gaze fixed outside the window. “Have I met you before, Adriel?”  
  
“I… vaguely remember seeing you somewhere," he replied, placing his hands in his torn coat pockets. “Have I?”   
  
“It’s probably just a coincidence. It doesn’t matter,” Tifa stated.

“Now you mention it,” a gruffer voice behind him grunted. “You do remind me of someone too. It’s like I’ve met you before, I mean, Marlene’s pretty shy and she seems to be okay with you too.”  
  
“Who do I remind you of?” Adriel asked, watching Cloud and Kadaj tumble to the ground, then clash their swords together, sending sparks into the air.

“There was this kid and his sister we came across about two and a half years ago,” Barret began. “They sort of appeared out of nowhere in 7th Heaven, they both went there a few times and then they just disappeared one day. We never saw them again, but the guy said his name, it sounded a lot like yours.”  
  
“At 7th Heaven?”   
  
“Yeah,” Barret stated suspiciously.

Reno sighed. “Can we leave the guy alone? I don’t think he’s in the mood for interrogation right now.”  
  
“Why’d you decide to toddle on in with us, anyway?” Barret snapped. 

“To look after him,” Reno replied smoothly. “He can’t go two steps without stepping into some kind of trouble.”  
  
“Oh, yeah?” Barret retorted.

Yuffie broke the tension by running towards the front of the ship, her arms piled high with materia. “Cloud – I brought your materia!” she yelled, jumping up and down in front of the window, the ship moved sideways and she slipped, nearly losing her balance. “Whoa! Hey watch it!”

The battle below them was getting heated, Cloud seemed as if he was growing more lethargic. Barret looked sternly at Cid. “Yo, Cid! Park this turkey!”  
  
Cid snapped back. “Shut up! You want off? Then jump! Get off my back!”   
  
Adriel narrowed his eyes at the prospect, then somebody appeared behind him, causing him to jump backwards. “He can handle this alone. Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth. Think of him as a sort of larval form.”   
  
Yuffie frowned. “Larva? You mean he’s an insect?”   
  
The familiar cat Adriel saw earlier spoke up. “Lassie, shut your gob!”

Yuffie frowned at him. “You can shut yours too, Cait Sith!”  
  
Adriel blinked, staring over at him. “That’s…” His eyes fell on the Moogle, then he cleared his throat. _‘Could Reeve be controlling the Moogle?’_   
  
“So the punk’s gonna become Sephiroth,” Cid added.

Tifa turned to Vincent worriedly. “Does Cloud know – about Kadaj?”

“One would think.”

She nodded, then turned back to the window. “Then you’re right. It’s his fight now.”

“Why? I don’t get it. Why can’t we help out?” Yuffie asked in frustration, seemingly trying to juggle the materia in her grasp to keep hold of it.

“This is man talk,” Cid barked.

Yuffie frowned, jumping childishly up and down. “Sexist. Sexist!”

Cait Sith snapped again. “Crikey lass, shut yer mouth!”

Barret sighed. “The men don’t get it either.”

Tifa smiled as she watched him fight. “Two years ago… think of the strength we all had when we fought that last battle. It’s only been a couple years, but already that feeling is gone. But Cloud – I think he’s found it again.”

Reno glanced at Adriel worriedly. “That feeling, is it gone for you?”  
  
Adriel remained quiet as he stared out of the window.

Barret grunted. “He’s got ten minutes.”

Yuffie sighed in defeat. “That Cloud’s a royal pain in the ass, like always.”

Tifa laughed slightly. “Cloud is Cloud!”

Reno stared at Adriel. “You better not do something stupid, y’hear?”  
  
Adriel huffed. “Since when have I ever?”   
  
“Oh, I don’t know, the time you risked your life to save me, the time when you nearly got knocked over by a block of bricks in Midgar because you weren’t watching where you were going, how about when you tried to set Elena and Tseng on a date and they found out so I had to cover for you… Or what about the time you got wasted and tried to chat up Rufus?” Reno grinned.

“I did what?”  
  
“I bet you don’t remember that, do you?” Reno laughed as he placed his arms behind his head, flopping on the ground like a cat. “It was when we went to Sector 8 when you were a rookie Turk. I was trying to train you and some of the others with Reeves about the different threats and you were meant to be patrolling, but you said you were thirsty and Reeves fell soft on you - like usual - and let you have a drink at the bar.”

“And I flirted with Rufus…?” Adriel huffed in disbelief.

“Yup!” Reno enthused happily.

Vincent chuckled behind them. “That must have been a sight to behold.”  
  
“Yeah, it was,” Reno smirked. “Rufus politely said ‘I’m flattered, but no thanks!’”   
  
“I can’t even remember that,” Adriel stated.

“When I say wasted… I mean wasted,” Reno laughed.

Adriel grinned, leaning his head against the wall, then it faltered as a shift in the atmosphere tumbled over the ship as the others spoke to one another. 


	10. One Winged Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's him! The man himself lmao. There's a bit of cussing and violence in this chapter so be warned.

An intruding voice split through Adriel’s mind. “You forgot me after everything I did for you…? You’re no different than him, aren’t you?” Adriel stumbled back gripping the sides of his head, collapsing onto the floor as the voice grew louder, continuing to infiltrate his headspace. “Come now, don’t be like that. I deserve a warm welcome, don’t I?”

“You okay, scamp?” Barret barked through the madness.

“It’s him,” Adriel groaned. “He’s…”   
  
Storm clouds formed suddenly outside, the ship shaking with a sudden strong surge of wind ghosted over its frame. A loud scream echoed outside, it sounded like Kadaj. Then a familiar katana ascended into the air, sharp glowing eyes rippling through the dark sky. Their hand gripped hold of the sword, then shifted it downwards, a large black wing on his back as he tilted his head downwards at Cloud, saying something incomprehensible.

Instead of lunging at him, Sephiroth’s slitted eyes turned attention to Shera, cutting through everyone on board. A malicious smirk fell on his slender face as he gazed at them.

“Why the hell is he looking at us?” Reno grunted, standing defensively in front of Adriel as he was curled into a ball on the floor. 

Tifa stepped closer to them. “He should be fighting Cloud, right?”   
  
Adriel grit his teeth. “We’re Cloud’s weakness,” he mumbled. “He could kill him if he wanted, but if he killed us….”   
  
Barret prepared his machine gun. “So that’s his plan, huh? Cut us away from Cloud so he can make him feel like shit? I think not. He may be a pain in the ass, but he’s our pain in the ass. I’m not having him moping around without us.”   
  
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes playfully, then after what felt like hours one of his hands glowed, dark power gushing towards the window. Cid yelled out, swerving the ship to the side. Cloud rushed towards Sephiroth, clashing his sword with his own, but he was knocked backwards. Sephiroth rushed towards the ship, a rush of power surging through the windows, cracking them and throwing shards of glass in several directions. 

“Fucking hell!” Cid roared out as he tried to steer the ship away from Sephiroth.

As if he was walking on the ground, Sephiroth stepped through the air, easily landing on the ship with grace, a relaxed smile on his face. His slitted eyes scanned the people dotted around, then landed on Tifa and Barret. “Ooh,” Sephiroth drawled sensually as he strolled toward them. “Such a pity, no welcome party?”   
  
“What do you want?” Tifa snapped, her hands tightly balled into fists.

“What I want…?” Sephiroth mused. “The last thoughts of geostigma’s dead. Those Remnants will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet – choking it, corroding it. What I want, Tifa, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as my vessel, just as my mother did long ago. Then one day we’ll find a new planet and on its soil, we’ll create a shining future.” “What about this planet?” Barret stated, his machine gun raised. 

“Well, that’s up to you,” Sephiroth stated as he paced. “But it’s no fun, without Cloud,” Sephiroth purred, he moved his long silver hair away from his face and glanced backwards as Cloud jumped through the broken window. “Joining the party.”   
  
“This isn’t their fight,” Cloud stated coldly. “This is between you and me.”   
  
“Since when?” Sephiroth cocked his head to the side. “After all, they are all of the people that helped to kill me, aren’t they?”   
  
“I killed you,” Cloud corrected him. “It should stay that way.”   
  
“My, my. As arrogant as ever, aren’t we, Cloud?” Sephiroth chuckled. “Who says I’m dead? I’m more alive than any of you.”   
  
“Get out,” Cloud snarled, raising his fusion sword in front of him.

“You’re so full of yourself, you don’t even notice death when you see it,” Sephiroth said plainly, pointing his katana over to Reno. “Step aside.”   
  
“Why should I?” Reno said coldly.    
  
“As Cloud put it ‘this isn’t your battle’,” Sepiroth said smirking.    
  
“Do as he says Reno,” Adriel breathed out behind him. “Don’t do something stupid.”   
  
“No, smart arse,” Reno snapped. “I’m not letting him hurt you.”   
  
Sephiroth sighed. “Look at him, protecting something so devoid of life.”   
  
Cloud blinked, his blue gaze shifting towards Reno as Sephiroth roughly shoved him aside, dragging Adriel upwards by his throat and analysing his face as if he was nothing more than data he could add to a file. Cloud tried to rush at him but he smirked purposefully at him, one of his long fingers tracing Adriel’s neck. “You see Cloud,” Sephiroth began as he spun on his heels, his grasp still tightly around Adriel’s throat. “When you only think of yourself, you tend to lose people a lot faster.”   
  
Cloud’s breath hitched in his throat as Sephiroth raised Adriel’s torn shirt with his katana, revealing the geostigma; it had burnt many paths through his skin, reaching past his chest and his abdomen. Sephiroth squinted with unhidden excitement. “You’ve been healed now, haven’t you? Would you have let him take your place?”   
  
Cloud tried to step forwards but Sephiroth placed his katana under Adriel’s chin. “He’s such a good boy, isn’t he? Wandering his way through life with his paint brushes to wash away his guilt on canvases and now, I can wash him away.”   
  
“Get off of him!” Cloud snapped, pouncing towards them, his fusion sword inches away from Sephiroth’s face. His large feathered wing protected his skin as he coiled it around himself. Batting Cloud away, sending him skidding across the ship floor.

Sephiroth smirked down at Cloud as he placed his foot over his chest, Adriel still tightly in his grasp. “Isn't it obvious?”

Cloud clenched his teeth. “What do you mean?”   
  
“Look at his eyes Cloud; they’re so deliciously blue,” Sephiroth stated. “Don’t you remember him from somewhere? A lost boy with his little sister attached at his hip?”

Cloud frowned, drooping his sword slightly to the floor, then he glanced at Adriel as he limply stayed in Sephiroth’s grasp. “You… We’ve met before?”   
  
“He doesn’t remember,” Sephiroth coldly cooed close to Adriel’s ear. “How could he? All of that trauma, all of those memories erased from all of the Mako.”

“What did you do to him!” Cloud yelled as he staggered upwards, his sword raised to his side.

Sephiroth evaded him with ease, slowly and purposefully, leaping like a cat close to the shattered window, away from Reno; sinking the tip of his katana into Adriel’s geostigma. “Hojo, not me,” a smirk tugged at his lips as Adriel grunted in pain. “Any closer and he’ll die.”

Reno grit his teeth, his gaze stormy. “That explains it all then,” Reno snarled. “He was just another game to Shinra, just like you were, Sephiroth?”

“I wasn’t a game,” Sephiroth retorted sharply. “I’m a God.”   
  
Adriel tiredly laughed in his grasp. “That’s quite funny, good joke.”   
  
“And you’re all ants” Sephiroth cooed, his fingers tightening around Adriel’s neck. “I could easily put you back in that place, make you relive it, destroy Edge just like I did to Midgar.” Sephiroth smirked, using his katana’s now red-coated tip to move some of Adriel’s stray hair away from his eyes. “You wouldn’t want to go through that again, would you? All those people dying because of you.”   
  
“It wasn’t your fault,” Cloud stated lowly to Adriel. “Don’t listen to a word of this shit.”   
  
“I’m not wrong though, am I?” Sephiroth murmured. “Aerith died because of him.”   
  
“He had nothing to do with her death,” Cloud snarled, his blue eyes flooding with grief, his grip tightening on the hilt of his weapon. “You killed her.”   
  
“Did I?” Sephiroth huffed. “You and Adriel led me to her. If I didn’t know where she was, I wouldn’t have been able to find her. Look at him, Cloud. He’s another puppet. Do you think he’s different? Do you think that President Shinra let him into the Turks out of pity, or with purpose?”   
  
Adriel tiredly stared at Sephiroth through the corner of his eyes, unable to retaliate as Sephiroth ran his blade across Adriel’s skin. Adriel stared at Sephiroth with heavy eyes. “I remember you.”   
  
“Oh, you do?”   
  
“You were the one who said you’d cure my sister, weren’t you?” Adriel snarled. “You tricked us,” Adriel growled, his gaze darkening. “You led her to her death, you bastard!”

He struggled in his vice grip, a sharp intake of breath escaped his pale lips as Sephiroth slammed him forcefully against the wall. Ooze dripped down his exposed skin as Sephiroth’s eyes hungrily flickered over his face. “Yes, I was, you were too interesting to destroy. She had become nothing more than a failed experiment. However, you proved to have some worth,” he drawled.   
  
“What happened to my parents!” Adriel snapped.

“I can’t answer that, unfortunately. What I can say though, they are definitely dead now,” Sephiroth stated, a smirk curving his mouth as AVALANCHE and Reno raised their weapons. “And judging from your condition, it looks like you’ll be dead soon too.”

Reno and Tifa attempted to tackle him away from Adriel, but the silver-haired man cut harshly across Adriel’s side. Blood splattered on to the floor as he screamed out. “I warned you, if you try to take him, I’ll cut him down.” Sephiroth stared blankly down at them. “Besides, your precious painter is far from innocent, he’s got blood on his own hands.”   
  
Reno frowned, taking a hasty step forwards. “No, he’s never-”   
  
“While your little team of AVALANCHE was searching for me, I was using him to cut people down and collect information. Don’t you ever wonder how easy it was for President Shinra to wind up dead?” Sephiroth smirked. “Someone with nothing left, the life I made him have, they’re easier to manipulate, easier for people to trust. Easier for me to pull at their strings”   
  
Adriel struggled, lashing out at Sephiroth to no avail.    
  
“No, you don't, Seph!” Reno yelled. “There was a witness.”

“I’m getting bored of the smell of bullshit,” Barret growled.    
  
Sephiroth chuckled lightly. “If you step closer, I’ll cut his life a little bit shorter.”   
  
Adriel bowed his head slightly, then gazed at Sephiroth blankly as his slit pupils dilated, his mouth twitching in amusement. As his intense eyes burned into his face, Adriel slipped out his pistol, aiming it quickly at him firing a bullet into his skull. He gasped loudly, as Adriel fell to the ground, stumbling back. Cloud hurried to Adriel's side, bending over him, and helping him back on to his feet. Cloud's blue eyes widened as Sephiroth swiped close to him with his katana. Cloud jumped out of the way, some of his clothes fraying, he scowled up at Sephiroth.

“How the fuck are you not dead?” Cid yowled.

“Like I said,” Sephiroth cooed. “I’m a God.”   
  
Adriel staggered upright, staring at Sephiroth as he strolled over to Cloud, his chin angled upwards and his katana tightly gripped in his slender hands. “Come, Cloud. Let me help you.”   
  
Cloud raised his fusion sword in front of himself, throwing short glances back at Adriel. Yuffie frowned over at them. “Hey! Cloud!” She threw him some materia. “I knew it’d come in handy!”   


Sephiroth and Cloud stumbled towards one another as the wind rushed through the broken windows, Barret and Tifa assisting Cloud’s side. But Sephiroth stared back at them and slashed down in a quick motion, blood splattered on the walls as Tifa tumbled backwards. Yuffie and Red XIII charged towards him, manoeuvring out of the way of his attacks. Adriel stumbled over to a cure materia and threw it to Tifa’s side, she swiftly caught it; placing it inside of his skin. It sunk in, then a soft hue glowed in her veins. 

Her dark lashes fluttered as the thunder rumbled outside; she looked up at Adriel. Then she stumbled up, rushing back to the battle to help Cloud. Adriel collapsed on the ground, the world appearing to blacken around him as his new friends' shadows battled against the man he thought he'd forgotten.


	11. Aerith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for violence in this chapter/character death

Empty syringes and spilt liquid littered the floor, shadows passing by large glass tubes. Glasses glinted in the sparse sunlight as sharp needles slipped into Adriel’s skin. His eyelashes fluttered as he tiredly lifted his head, his hair sticking to his forehead. He was too weak to move, or to scream. Black greasy hair and a triangle-shaped face fell close to his vision as his head swayed lifelessly.

“I see you’re finally awake,” a gritty voice chirped. “Your sister is finally ready, but you’re taking a bit longer to prepare. Your body seemed to reject the Mako, but now, I can see it isn’t. You’re just absorbing it differently - more slowly.”   
  
Adriel’s blurred vision focussed on a man dressed in a white laboratory coat, he fixed the position of his glasses and squinted into the glass tube. “Go on, speak,” the man urged excitedly.

Adriel only managed to groan, his head drooping once again. The man sighed, pacing around the room, then he came to a stop. He pressed a button next to the machine as someone entered, the metal doors slowly closing, hiding Adriel from view. 

“You’re safe!” a soft voice sounded.

“Shh, please be quieter…” The scientist stated.

“The building is under attack by the Genesis army. They may be after you, Professor Hojo,” the man stated hurriedly.

“And you’re my protection…?” Hojo inquired.

The man sighed, then continued. “In any case, we have to evacuate, will you come with me.”

Hojo giggled, then his laughter hushed. “Degrading monsters are nothing to fear,” Hojo stated. 

“Are you talking about Genesis?”   
  
Hojo huffed smugly. “Indeed, a memento from an unenlightened era, when men could deem any unclassified life form an Ancient.”

“Unclassified life form…?”   
  
“Jenovah, the calamity that fell from the sky,” Hojo informed the man, he stepped away from the machine Adriel was hidden inside, his voice trailing further away. 

The voices echoed down the room, away from Adriel’s hearing. Then after a few hours passed, the metal barrier around the glass tube opened again, Hojo stood in front of it, his hands firmly clasped behind his back, the rest of the room devoid of anyone once again. Hojo stepped close to the glass. “Speak.”   
  
Adriel stared at Hojo, his shining blue eyes shadowed through lethargy.    
  
“Stop ignoring my orders,” Hojo snarled.

  
Adriel’s lips parted shakily. “Where’s Mei?”   
  
Hojo giggled excitedly. “Finally! I knew you could speak.” Hojo moved over to the machine, pressing some buttons on the side of it. The container opened and he stepped inside, releasing Adriel from grips that were holding him inside of it. Adriel tumbled to the side, tiredly staring up at the scientist as he adjusted his glasses on his aquiline nose. “Project Y is waiting inside this room for you.”   
  
Hojo dragged him inside a room made of metal, a water and food dispenser was placed on one of the walls. Adriel collapsed next to Mei as she shivered in a corner, her skin covered with peculiar shaped rashes and bruises. Hojo smirked at the both of them. “You both be good now. If you’re too loud, I’ll have to silence you.”   
  
He roughly pulled the doors closed, slamming it shut. 

A voice cut through his head as glass shattered close to him, pulling Adriel back into the present. Cloud’s body was shielding him from falling debris as Sephiroth fought against his friends and summoned black liquid that resembled the Lifestream. Blood dripped onto Adriel’s skin as Cloud’s face hovered above him, he shifted underneath him and gazed tiredly upwards, his vision landing on tired blue eyes. Cloud was heavily injured.   
  
He had cuts and heavy bruising on his neck and forehead, but his hands were firmly planted on either side of Adriel as the ship spun out of control; protecting him. “Cloud,” Adriel murmured. “You’re hurt.”   
  
“You blacked out,” Cloud stated groggily, trying to control his shaking arms. “The others had to distract Sephiroth. They’re trying to lead him off of the airship and into the Midgar Slums.”   
  
Adriel turned his head, Cid, Barret and Red XIII were trying to control the ship and steer it away from mountains of dust and debris that dusted over the remnants of Sector 5. “We can’t keep doing this much longer, Cloud!” Cid barked. “Get that bastard off of my ship.”   
  
Barret stumbled over to Adriel and prized him away from Cloud with ease. He placed him down into one of the corners of the ship and locked eyes with the former SOLDIER. “Listen, Spiky. We’ve got your back, don’t screw this up, yeah?” 

Cloud reluctantly nodded and bolted towards Sephiroth. He slammed his fusion sword down into the taller man, but it didn’t seem to make a mark as he threw him backwards, slicing at his clothes. The rough grey clouds swirled around the ship as Adriel’s head lolled to the side, black ooze forming around his arms and neck. 

Red XIII curled around Adriel, he stared at him worriedly. “Hold on a little longer, kid.”   
  
Twenty minutes fluttered by like the beating of wings, the other members of AVALANCHE managed to clamber back on board, and Cid was still fighting against the strong currents of wind. Reno was slumped over the side, holding his bleeding arm; Yuffie and Tifa were rushing around the rocky ship, trying to heal everyone’s injuries with materia. 

Adriel weakly moaned. He gripped at the back of Vincent’s cape as it passed his vision. “Is Cloud okay?”   
  
Vincent blinked, then stared down at him with an unreadable expression. “We’ve done as much as we can to give him an advantage,” Vincent stated. 

A bleeding figure darted by shattered windows of the ship, slicing and slashing at Sephiroth as he flew through the air, his large black wing casting shadows over everyone on board. Sephiroth wasn’t being harmed at all, he wasn’t fatigued but Cloud was. His clothes were drenched with blood - he was dying.

Adriel breathed in, collecting the last ounce of strength he had left. He removed himself from Red XIII’s warm fur, snatching some materia and taking the gun from its holster. He used the floor to propel his body forwards as he sunk the materia into his gun, the green glow illuminated his features as he raised his weapon. He gripped hold of Sephiroth by his neck, dragging him downwards.    
  
As they spiralled wildly to the floor, heavy green lightning bolts struck Sephiroth, causing him to stun for a moment, then his cat-like eyes turned to Adriel and he raised his katana, giving Cloud an opening. Cloud darted behind Sephiroth as the materia caused the scenery to glow around them and he shoved his fusion sword into Sephiroth’s back. 

Cloud raised his sword in front of himself as blood dribbled down his face. “What are you doing, Adriel?”   
  
“Buying you more time,” Adriel stated as he placed his hand on Cloud’s forearm. Materia coursed through his veins, healing some of Cloud’s injuries. “It’s the most I can do for you,” he said tiredly.

Sephiroth swiftly turned his body around, kicking Cloud into the ground, then he stared at Adriel. “How amusing, you’d throw your life away for a puppet.”   
  
“He isn’t a puppet,” Adriel panted as hills of broken buildings glided by the ship.

Sephiroth chuckled. “Enlighten me before I cut you down. How?”   
  
“He has his own emotions, his own memories, a family,” Adriel murmured. 

“Now I understand,” Sephiroth grinned, cutting him off. “You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?”

The room fell silent around Adriel’s ears, his chest constricting wildly as the wind was kicking sand wildly through the shattered windows, making it hard to see. 

A huff of breath fell behind Adriel, as Cloud’s bright eyes widened, staring at his back. “Is… that true?”   
  
Adriel blinked, staring behind himself; his body shaking uncontrollably. Reno’s weapon was clutched tightly in his grasp; his eyes glued on to Adriel. “Ad?”   
  
Needles felt as if they were piercing against Adriel’s neck. “I-” 

A low chuckle growled through the howling wind as Sephiroth stepped forward. “I was right, you're Cloud’s weakness.”

Cloud’s distinct silhouette dashed towards Sephiroth once more, causing sparks to fly as their swords met together. The wild wind pushed through their hair as they battled on the ship as Cid tried to stabilize the vehicle in the air.    
  
Cloud grunted as he tried to evade some of Sephiroth’s attacks. His green slitted eyes shimmering with glee as Cloud yelled out in pain from his swift slash of his katana. Sephiroth propelled his body upwards with his dark wing, feathers dancing towards the ground. 

Reno yelled out; racing towards him with his Electro-Mag Rod raised. Sparks flew around his lanky physique as Sephiroth’s katana took the impact from his weapon. His pupils dilating, a smirk tugging his lips. “I’ll take everything you love away from you.”   


Sephiroth grinned as he kicked Reno backwards, gripping his Electro-Mag Rod and snatching it from his hand, hitting his shoulder with force. Reno tumbled backwards as the rest of Cloud’s friends tried to rush forward. Sephiroth smirked as he raised his wing in front of him, sending out a gust of wind knocking them backwards.

He darted towards Adriel, slamming Reno’s rod into his stomach, piercing his flesh from the velocity. 

Distant voices screamed out as silver hair fell over his limp body. Lithe fingers gripped at his face as black ooze dribbled down his mouth, hot breath trailing over his cheeks. 

“Such potential,” Sephiroth murmured into his ear. “You could have been like me.”   
  
“No,” Adriel muttered. “I’d never be like you.”   
  
Silence fell around them for a few moments as the distant patter of feet on the ground approached them. Adriel opened his heavy eyelids, staring up at the cat-like eyes staring at him with curiosity. “I’ll never be like you… because I love this planet, flaws and all.”   
  
“So be it,” Sephiroth murmured. 

A sharp pain racked through his body, Sephiroth’s grip hardening and pushing the rod further into his stomach; a blur of people racing to his side as droplets of blood spilt on to his cold skin. 

_ “Adriel!”  _

Sephiroth left his peripheral vision, his dark wing trailing around his muscular torso as he gripped his katana again, leaving the ship and darting into the clouds. 

Gloved hands touched Adriel’s skin, as his head lolled to the side, his lips parted in an attempt to fill his lungs with air. “Ad! Adriel, look at me.”   
  
Adriel’s lashes flickered as he forced his eyes open to see Reno leaning over him. “Reno,” Adriel croaked. “Sorry.”   
  
“No, you’re not going to die on me. That’s an order!” Reno barked coldly.    
  
Adriel laughed, although the pressure from Reno’s weapon burnt into his skin. “Hey, don’t worry. I’ve been through worse.”   
  
“You idiot,” Reno whimpered, his false confidence fading. “Why’d you have to get yourself involved? Why didn’t you stay with Tseng and Elena?”   


“Not the same mistakes,” Adriel huffed. “No more.”

Cloud rushed over to him, analysing the injury, his hand hovering over to the weapon. “We can fix this, right Tifa?”

Familiar brown hair and a pink dress blurred into view in the back of Cid’s ship. Adriel stared past Cloud and Reno, his eyes focussing on the familiar person. “Aerith...?”

“Did he just say Aerith...?” Tifa whispered, covering her mouth. Cloud’s breath hitched momentarily in his throat as he leant down near a cure materia.

“Don’t you dare die on me!” Cloud squalled as he attempted to use magic on his injury.

“It’ll be okay,” Aerith gently said, as she approached him. “Cloud will take care of it from here.”

No one else seemed to see her.

“I’m surprised you remember me,” she lightly chuckled. “I see you’ve made lots of friends.”

Adriel smiled and nodded once back to her, his body aching. Aerith glanced up at Cloud as he fumbled through the first aid kit and at Reno as he yelled orders at everyone in an attempt to save him. She glanced back down at Adriel, smiling softly. “Could you tell him that you’ll be okay? I can look after you for now.”

Adriel winced as he glanced away from her. “Cloud,” he stated louder than he expected, Cloud paused in his tracks, his blue eyes threatening to flood with tears. “Aerith can look after me from here.”

Cloud stubbornly shook his head. “No! I don’t want to lose you too.”

Adriel glanced up at the blond as he sternly stared back at him. “You can do it. Kill Sephiroth again, not just for me, but for her.” 

Adriel’s breaths slowed, his body becoming numb and the world dark; tears dripped down onto his face as a scream trailed off into the darkness.


	12. Acceptance

A soft hand touched his back as he shakily got to his feet, flowers surrounding him. “Where am I?” Adriel murmured tiredly. 

His eyes landed on Aerith as she glanced back at him, her brown hair falling gracefully over her shoulders. “You’re safe,” Aerith stated. 

“Cloud’s still out there,” Adriel murmured. “He’s hurt.”  
  
Aerith softly smiled at him. “Knowing Cloud, he’ll be alright. Zack and I will make sure of that.”   
  
“Zack?” Adriel stared at her in confusion.

“You probably haven’t met him,” she said gently. “He was a friend of Cloud’s when he worked as a SOLDIER.”

“Did you heal him?” Adriel asked, his blue eyes falling on her green ones. “The geostigma…”  
  
“Something like that,” she replied smiling.   
  
“I’m sorry,” Adriel placed his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry for what I did to you.”   
  
“You didn’t do anything,” Aerith stated, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You have nothing to apologise for.” Adriel glanced hesitantly up at her as her green eyes flickered over his face. “I heard you say that you never got to repay my kindness.”   
  
Adriel remained silent.

“I have something to ask of you. Can you repay it for me?”  
  
“How?”   
  
“The fight is over now and you… you don’t have to fight anymore either. Kadaj has finally moved on, you should too. Look after Cloud and the others for me.”

“When you say move on, do you mean I’m going to die?” Adriel muttered.

“No, don’t be silly,” Aerith giggled. “It’s not your time yet. I want you to move on from your past. Even if you lost your sister and friends, they’re protecting you, the lifestream connects all of us.” 

Adriel stared down at the colourful variety of flowers underneath his feet. “What about Mei?”

Aerith softly gazed at him. “She’s here too, look.”

Brown hair tied in bunches and bright blue eyes stared up at him, a wide smile on her face. “Ad!”  
  
“Mei?”   
  
She rushed over to him hugging his torso tightly, he returned the embrace, tears rolling down his cheeks as she laughed. Adriel smiled down at her. “You’re okay.”   
  
“Sure!” Mei responded with a toothy grin, she looked up at him. “Aerith has been looking after me.”

“Thank you,” Adriel breathed shakily.

Aerith smiled gently at him. “No, thank you. You’ve helped Cloud to open up again. I missed seeing his smile.” She stared down, her smile faltering. “It seems a lot of people are missing you.”  
  
Adriel followed her line of sight, the white ground below them fading away underneath their feet. They stood on the Sector 5 church’s roof, looking down through the hole in the ceiling. All of the town, former AVALANCHE members and the Turks were dotted around the room; sunlight seeping into a sparkling pool of water in the middle of the building as children stepped into the water, healing their geostigma. 

As they celebrated, Cloud was crouched down shakily clutching at Adriel’s beaten body; his forehead resting on his chest. Reno was concealing his face.

Aerith glanced back at Adriel. “He carried you all the way here, you know. He wanted to heal you.”

“He’d do that for me?” Adriel asked.

“Reno seemed to stubbornly follow beside him, bickering with him as they walked here. He kept him busy at least!”

“Sounds about right,” Adriel sighed as Mei lingered by his side.

"It's time," Aerith stated, moving gracefully forwards towards Adriel.

Mei reluctantly released her hold on her brother's arm as Aerith approached him, placing her hand to his forehead. “Promise me, you’ll look after yourself.”  
  
Adriel looked down at Mei as she smiled at him. He glanced back up at Aerith. "I promise."

His vision slowly faded to white. 


	13. Forgiveness

When he awoke, Cloud was staring down at him, his widening eyes bloodshot from tears, blond hair framing his face. Adriel was no longer looking down, but in the Sector 5 Church - Aerith’s Church. 

“You’re awake?” Cloud murmured, his voice breathy from crying, but full of warmth.

Reno’s voice cut through the cheering crowds. “Adriel...? Ad!”

He rushed over to Adriel’s side with an unreadable expression; leering down at him as he winced from his lethargic body, Adriel’s eyes still adjusting to the light. Adriel glanced up at Reno, an absent minded smile plastering his face as his brown hair clung stubbornly to his forehead. “Hey.”

“Hey? HEY! That’s all you can muster, you bastard! I thought you died. How come you and Cloud get special treatment, anyway?” Reno growled. “Aah, what the hell. At least you’re alive, someone up there must like you, yo.” His voice hitched in his throat, although he tried to cloak it. 

“You’re okay too!” Adriel exclaimed, wriggling out of Cloud’s grasp like a cat and tightly hugging him and Reno. Cloud grunted in surprise and Adriel pulled away worriedly. “Are you still injured?”   
  
Cloud stared down at his unscarred body, then dramatically turned around. Adriel lightly laughed as familiar Mako infused eyes landed back on him. “Not that I can see.”

Adriel smiled, his body still slightly loose as he teetered to the side. Reno quickly placed his arm around Adriel’s shoulders, balancing him. Adriel sighed, resting his chin on Reno's shoulder. “Thank you.”   
  
“For what? Helping you to stand, because you’re too stubborn to rest?” Reno asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“For keeping Cloud busy,” Adriel jested.

Cloud frowned. “How did you know that?”

“Let’s just say the person up there likes me,” Adriel huffed.

Cloud softly smiled, then he raised his hand towards Adriel. “Here, you’re the last one.”   
  
“Last one?” Adriel stated in confusion.

“Come with me,” Cloud said softly. “I’ll show you.”   
  
Groggily, Adriel took his hand, treading after him into the body of water in the middle of the church, his clothes dampened against his skin as he followed after Cloud, his hand in his. As if a weight was lifted, his entire body felt light again, a feeling he hadn’t had for months. Adriel lifted his arms, the geostigma he had slowly reversed until only a small scar was left on his arm from where his skin scraped the Lifestream two years ago.   


He lifted his arm into the light, slowly blinking in disbelief. He dropped it back to his side as Cloud watched him, his features soft as his blue eyes reflected the sunlight. “How do you feel?”   
  
“It’s gone,” Adriel blubbered, uncontrollable tears swimming down his cheeks. “I- I can’t believe it.” His breaths came out as sharp gasps as he wept. “It’s gone.”   
  
Cloud squeezed Adriel’s hand, remaining quiet as he cried. After a few moments, Adriel messily wiped his eyes, staring passed the assortment of smiling faces. His vision met his sister and Aerith as they leant down, talking to some of the children in the church. Mei turned to him, her once pale face, now full of life. She smiled widely at Adriel and waved as Aerith turned away, stepping towards the church doors.

Cloud seemed to have noticed them too, his hand fit around Adriel’s like a missing puzzle piece as they watched Aerith and Mei walk towards a spiky raven haired man. He gave Cloud a brief wave, then took Mei’s opposite hand as he and Aerith faded through the doorway. 

“Thank you,” Adriel whispered.

Tifa’s voice broke his attention away from the entrance. “Come on! What’d you say we all go back to 7th Heaven, like old times. Drinks are on the house tonight.”   
  
Cloud stared expectantly down at Adriel, a small smile on his lips. “I’d say you need a few drinks after how today was.”   
  
Adriel giggled slightly, though his breaths were still shaking from crying so hard earlier. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Let’s go, Cloud.”   



	14. Celebrations and Discoveries

7th Heaven was the rowdiest it had ever been before; not in a bad way though. People were laughing loudly and talking about what a mess the past two years had been for everyone. Denzel, Marlene and the Moogle Girl were all talking with Barret as Tifa handed them fizzy drinks. Cid and Yuffie were bickering, Vincent was silently drinking as a very drunk Elena spoke to him a mile a minute about how great it was being a Turk and Adriel was at one of the tables, sipping some alcoholic punch Tifa whipped up for all of the adults to try. Cloud and Tseng were quietly talking, then Tseng broke away from him and left to sit beside Elena as she giggled.

Cloud quietly approached Adriel and pulled up a chair beside him, leaning his muscular arms on the table. Adriel distantly stared at the wall, lifting his glass to his lips and taking small gulps like a robot, his eyelashes fluttered as he gazed beside himself. Cloud quietly chuckled at how gormless he looked. “You okay?”   
  
“Sorry… yeah, yeah!” Adriel smiled. “Just, still so relieved, I guess.”   
  
“What about your geostigma?” Cloud questioned, playfully taking Adriel’s empty glass away from his grasp.

“No,” Adriel stated bluntly, his eyes locked with Cloud’s. “I’m relieved you’re okay.”   
  
“That’s what you were worrying about?”   
  
“Yeah,” Adriel chirped. “‘That’, as you put it, is what I was worried about.”   
  
“The crying…” Cloud’s voice trailed away.

“A mix of things,” Adriel affirmed.

Long brown hair fell between them, a cheeky smile on Tifa’s lips. “Can I fix you both with some more drinks?”   
  
“Yeah,” Cloud bluntly remarked.

“Please, that’d be great,” Adriel replied smiling.

Tifa took the empty glass from the table and whizzed away to a table full of an assortment of alcohol and punch. She quickly filled two glasses up to the top and returned with them gripped in both of her gloved hands. “Here you are.”   
  
“Thanks,” Adriel said as he took the glass in his hands, placing it down on one of the mats in front of him. 

Cloud took his glass, instantly taking a healthy gulp from it, then placing it down on the mat next to Adriel’s drink. He glanced at Adriel through the sides of his eyes and he awkwardly cleared his throat. “So…” Cloud began, without knowing what he was trying to go with the rest of the sentence. “Are you going to continue with your paintings?”   
  
Adriel giggled slightly. “Uh, yeah. It’s my job,” he grinned. “Are you continuing being a delivery boy?”   
  
“Yeah,” Cloud stammered as he took another sip from his glass, his face slightly flushed. 

“Are you okay?” Adriel inquired, leaning slightly forwards to stare at him properly.

Cloud nodded once, placing the glass back on the table; fiddling with his clothes and hair. Adriel tilted his head, strands of his brown hair falling over his forehead as he smirked at him. “It’s alright, I know you’re more of a man of action than words,” he jested.

“What’s all this about action?” a familiar smug voice called behind them.  Reno pulled up another chair besides Adriel, his left arm in a cast and a shit-eating grin on his face. “You doing okay, then, Ad?”   
  
“Yeah,” Adriel replied hastily, looking perplexed at Cloud. He blinked then stared down at Reno’s arm. “Your arm…”   
  
“It’s alright,” Reno stated while lazily shrugging. “I’ve sprained it if it wasn’t for Tifa it probably would have been broken. Unfortunately, I don’t rise from the dead like you both do.”

Adriel snorted into his glass, taking another sip from the bitter liquid. “Well, I think the Lifestream thinks Cloud and I are special, right?” he exclaimed as he placed an arm over Cloud’s broad shoulders, mildly shaking him. 

Cloud mildly nodded, staring at Reno with narrowed eyes as Adriel’s hand lingered on his shoulder. 

Reno blinked at him. “What? Have I done something wrong again?”   
  
“Are you and him together?” Cloud bluntly asked.

Adriel snorted some of his drink up his nose, spluttering and coughing. Reno patted Adriel’s back as he choked, then eventually he regained his composure and stared at Cloud. He wiped his mouth free from stray spit and blinked.

Reno pulled his hand away from Adriel’s back and smirked, kicking his legs and tapping his fingers on the sofa. “And what’s it to you, yo?”   
  
Cloud frowned impatiently.

Reno shrugged. “If you really want to know, we’re-”   
  
“We’re friends,” Adriel interjected, frowning at Reno. “Stop teasing him.”   
  
“Aww, shucks, why? He looks funny when he’s mad.”   
  
“Reno!” Adriel lectured.

“You’re not together,” Cloud stated.

“As far as I know, we’re not,” Adriel sighed as he dabbed some napkins on his slightly wet clothes.    
  
Reno rested his chin on one of his hands, smiling. “As far as you know?”   
  
Adriel rolled his eyes, leaning back against the chair, mirroring Cloud’s body language. “Well, yeah?”   
  
“Y’know,” Reno drawled, tearing his eyes away from Adriel and back onto Cloud’s slightly agitated ones. “I never thought I’d see the day you’d be interested in one of the Turks. I always thought you and Tifa were an item.”   
  
“No,” Cloud bluntly replied. “Tifa is just a friend.”   
  
Reno slowly nodded. “Gotcha.”   
  
“I’m so very lost in this conversation,” Adriel murmured. “What are we meant to be talking about?”   
  
“Apparently, Cloud’s crush on you,” Reno said, his tone cold and defensive.

“His what?” Adriel croaked.

Cloud shifted uncomfortably, then frowned at Reno. “How is this any of your business?”   
  
“He’s one of us,” Reno stated. “It’s gonna be my business, yo.”   
  
“Reno, stop tormenting him,” Adriel hissed. “Leave him be.” Cloud averted his gaze, leaning closer to the table as Adriel stared at him worriedly. “It’s alright, he’s just being a primadonna.”   
  
Cloud murmured something unintelligible and Adriel frowned. “Sorry?”   
  
“He’s right,” Cloud muttered, grasping his glass. 

“Right?”   
  
“Oh my-” Reno sighed. “He has a thing for you!”   
  
“Ohh,” Adriel breathed. “Uh… I’m gonna get some more drinks.”   
  
As he got up Cloud and Reno quietly bickered amongst each other, as Adriel approached the buffet table to get some more drinks, Vincent seemingly appeared behind him. “Have you got a phone?”   
  
“Shit!” Adriel exclaimed as he jumped, nearly dropping his glass. He faced Vincent sighing in relief. “Oh, it’s only you, Dracula.”   
  
The slightest smile crept on his face, his red eyes analysing Adriel’s expression. “You look awkward,” Vincent deduced. “Did he finally confess?”   
  
“Yeah,” Adriel muttered as he filled his glass with some more punch. 

“Which one?” Vincent asked, his tone tinged with the slightest hint of amusement. 

**“HUH?”**


End file.
